


Beneath A Cracked Moon

by mantisbelle



Category: RWBY
Genre: Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, tumblr prompt compilation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2018-07-29 06:49:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 68
Words: 52,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7674295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mantisbelle/pseuds/mantisbelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of prompt fills that I've gotten on tumblr. Tags will be added as I go. Mainly Ironqrow, Crime Dads, and whatever else people send my way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What Are You Doing Here? - Ironqrow

**Author's Note:**

> From an anonymous prompter on tumblr: "James has a stressful day at work, Qrow does his best to make him feel better. (take this however you please)"

Qrow was curled up on the couch in James’ spotless Atlas apartment, wrapped up in an old quilt that James had said was a family heirloom and watching a television show when he heard the door to the apartment click open. He was there as a surprise, and the possibility of seeing James left him feeling elated.

However, the sight of James, dragging himself in with bags under his eyes and looking beat down by the world shot a pain through Qrow’s chest that he couldn’t describe. It was something hurtful. Something painful.

“James?” Qrow shifted on the couch, and watched as James picked his head up, barely enough to acknowledge him.

“Qrow.” James’ voice was ragged, and Qrow wondered why. Had James spent his entire day yelling himself hoarse? Or presenting to a crowd that wouldn’t listen? Had he just woken up. “What are you doing here?”

“I figured I’d uh.. Stop in for a visit.” Qrow shifted on the couch and stood up, crossing the room to join James at the coatrack, where the man was shrugging out of his greatcoat and stiffly stepping out of his boots. When James had managed to straighten up all the way, Qrow wrapped his arms around him. “Are you ok?”

“Just a rough day at work.” James muttered, pulling away. “Look… I don’t know why you’re here, but I want to go to bed.”

Qrow’s mouth dropped open, then clamped back shut. He watched as James got barely five feet away from him before Qrow steeled himself and spoke up. “I’m coming with you.”

“Qrow-”

“James.” Qrow didn’t waver. Followed after James as the man stepped into the bedroom. When he came in, James was seating himself on the side of the bed, slipping one sock off after the other and just looking like he was dead tired. “What happened?”

“Just the council.” James mumbled. “Didn’t want to listen to a proposal. Even with facts presented that-” He shook his head. Hung his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Qrow seated himself on the side of the bed next to James. “Is there anything I can do to-”

“No.” James muttered. “I don’t think so.”

Qrow’s expression saddened, and he reached out, placing a hand on James’ shoulder. “Let me.”

“Qrow-”

“James.” His hand reached up, and Qrow gently cupped the side of James’ jaw to turn James to face him.

Their eyes met.

It looked like all of the color had washed out of James’ blue. Qrow leaned forward, pressed a chaste kiss to James’ lips “Lie down.” 

“Qrow?”

“And shirt off.”

“Qrow, I’m not in the mood-”

“I’m going to give you a backrub, Jim. That’s it.” Qrow smiled sweetly at James. “Promise.”

The room is silent, aside from the sounds of their breaths. James hesitates, then nods, pulling his shirt up and discarding it on the floor next to him. Qrow reached out, placing a gentle hand on James’ shoulder and pushed him back onto the bed. 

James laid back, no fight left in him after a long day and scooted himself back into the bed, settling into the heavy pillows against his headboard. Qrow reached out, placed a hand on the flesh side of James’ chest. “Turn over?”  
Underneath his hand, James turned, rolling onto his stomach and wrapping himself up around a pillow. His eyes fluttered shut, and Qrow reached out again, placing one hand on each side of James’ chest and kneading gently. “Talk to me.”

All Qrow earned for his efforts was a low groan from James. He felt James’ muscles tense for a moment, then relax, at least on the right side. The metal didn’t respond, but that wasn’t any deterrent. Qrow pressed on, searching for knot after knot in James’ back and trying to unlock the pain and tension of the day with nothing more than a touch.

Once in a while, he’d let his fingers dance over the plates that made up James’ spine, or he’d press a kiss to one of the scars that wound their way up the back of James’ neck, or across his flesh side.

“I wanted them to listen.” James finally mumbled into his pillow, eyes still shut as Qrow paused a second, watching James’ expression from where he rested. “and I tried to fight them and they just wouldn’t-”

“Try not to think about work, Jim.” Qrow pressed hard into the space at the small of James’ back, and he was sure that had James not been reinforced so heavily, he would have heard the bones crack under the pressure. “Just focus on this.”

“It’s not that easy, Qrow.”

“I know.” Qrow swung a leg over James’ back, settling himself on James’ butt and using the new vantage point to redouble his efforts in the massage. “I just want you to relax, Jim.”

“I know.”

“Is there anything you want me to do?”

The room was silent, the question carrying two weights to it. Qrow didn’t know what he expected from James for an answer, but he wasn’t surprised by what he was finally given.

“Stay with me?”

Qrow pressed his palms into James’ sides and leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of James’ neck, on one of those sensitive scars. Underneath him, he could both hear and feel James’ breath hitch, if only for a moment. “Of course.”

“I want to sleep, Qrow.”

Qrow nods, gently massaging up and down James’ back until he felt all of the tension and stress finally wash out of the man. He carefully lifted himself up off of James and got out of bed, crossing the room to get to the dresser, where he removed two pairs of pajama pants. He tossed one down on the bed next to James, then carefully slipped into a pair of his own.

He could hear James shift on the bed, slip out of his slacks from the day and into the pajamas before getting up and depositing the dirty clothing in a hamper that was hidden away in his closet. 

Qrow climbed into the bed, and James climbed in alongside him. Qrow settled into the pillows, and James does the same, opening his arms up for Qrow. Understanding the silent request, Qrow slid into James’ grip, wrapped himself up around James, and reached over for the lamp on the bedside table.

It clicked off, and Qrow closed his eyes, listening for the sound of James’ quiet breathing before it slipped into a quiet snore.


	2. Don't Wake Him- Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> albino-atilla on tumblr prompted: A Sorry Kiss - Ironqrow

He tried to be as quiet as he possibly could as he pulled on his right sock over an ankle that it would never fit properly. James shifted on the edge of the of his and Qrow’s shared bed, doing his absolute best to make it out of the apartment without waking his partner.

As he sat back up, James heard the springs of the bed creak. Heard Qrow shift amongst the sheets.

_Shit._

James stood up, went to the closet where he knew his good vests were stored and removed one from its hanger before slipping it on over his shirt and beginning to quietly button it. He didn’t want to wake Qrow.

It was early. Far too early. Nobody in their right mind would be up at four in the morning. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had a meeting to get to and had allowed himself the luxury of going home before all of his paperwork was done, James wouldn’t have been up now. But he had to finish his work before the meeting at eight o clock, sharp.

And so now he was trapped in his and Qrow’s room, trying to get dressed without waking Qrow but also having to feel his way through the darkness to become presentable. James went to the bedside table, where he knew one of his gloves would be sitting next to his reading glasses, book, and a glass of water.

He found it, and slipped it onto his right hand, and was halfway across the room when he felt the floorboards creak under his right foot.

_Shit._

James looked back over his shoulder to see Qrow, shifting in the bed again and burrowing himself further amongst the blankets. It didn’t look like he was waking up. That was good. James would be sure to leave Qrow a note in the kitchen, since he knew that would be the first place that Qrow went in the morning.

Upon reaching the door, James felt a pang in his chest at the realization that he was leaving Qrow alone for the morning. He’d call at a reasonable time, James decided. Only the best for his Qrow. He reached out, turned the handle, and pushed the door open, gently.

**_Creaaaak._ **

_Shit._

_That was it._

“Jimmy?”

James felt a guilt shoot through him and turned to face Qrow, who had at least managed to lift his head up from the softness of the pillows.

Qrow rubbed an eye and James could practically see the orb of Qrow’s eye screwing around in search of him. “Why’re you up?”

“I have to go to work.” James says, keeping his voice even and quiet so that he wouldn’t end up bothering Qrow through volume. He took his hand away from the door and crossed the room, gently seating himself on the bed next to Qrow, who looked like he wanted to wrap himself up around James. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Qrow shifted, looked up at James directly. “You did a bad job.”

James smiled down at Qrow softly. Lifted a hand to brush his hair out of his face. “I know.” The words came out barely above a whisper. He leaned forward, pressed a soft kiss to Qrow’s lips and took just a moment to nuzzle Qrow’s hair. “I’m sorry.”

Qrow blinked up at James and nodded. “Can we do lunch?” Qrow’s voice sounded like it was half-whining. “I’m gonna miss you.”

James pressed another kiss to Qrow’s lips. “I know.” Another nuzzle. “I’m sorry. I’ll set lunch aside for you.”

“Alright.” Qrow burrowed himself back into the blankets. “I’ll see you later, Jimmy.”

James stood up, went to the door. Opened it partially and stepped halfway out the door.

Stopped.

Hesitated.

Looked back at Qrow. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

James closed the door. Grabbed his coat. Went to work. There would be time for I love yous later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	3. A Kiss On The Lips- Crime Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anipendragon on tumblr prompted: "Wanna go out sometime?" - Crime Dads

Roman had probably been in and out of the club five times in the last three days. Showing up for early parts of the night and for closing time, to dance and to drink. He enjoyed the night life, but he didn’t have the slightest clue as to what it was that was making him want to come in so regularly.

He’d told himself quite a few times at this point that his reason for coming in so often had nothing to do with the cute owner’s forearms.

Nope.

 _Definitely_ unrelated.

And so now, Roman was standing outside of the bar, ready to shove his hands into his pockets and turn around to go find something else that night. He was going to go in and have a drink, and he was going to try hard to avoid getting any looks from the handsome bartender.

Roman sighed, steeled himself, and stepped inside of the bar. The bass became his new heartbeat, and he could feel his bones shake with the beat of the drums. It was a pleasant feeling, and he wanted to o out and dance and enjoy himself, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to go, get a cocktail, and relax the night away.

Pretend like he wasn’t about to make a massive fool of himself.

He sauntered up to the bar counter, and he immediately felt the bartender’s eyes on him.

Junior, they called him.

Roman didn’t know why.

He didn’t mind that he didn’t know why.

Roman seated himself at one of the bar stools, and turned, trying to make it look like he was there to do something other than just ogle the bartender.

“Fancy seeing you here again.” A low voice vibrated through the air. Roman looked back, and saw that Junior was leaning against the counter beside him. “Want me to get you something?”

Roman turned to face Junior, and his heart nearly skipped a beat as his eyes met Junior’s grey.

 _Shit_.

He leaned forward across the counter, deciding to play himself as the playful one as usual. “I dunno, do you want to get me something?” What? Where had that even come from? Roman blinked, looking at the shelf of liquor that was stationed behind Junior.

For a second, just a second, Roman was sure that Junior had flushed. Junior smirked across the counter at him. “I’d like to think you’re here to give my business money.” Junior said, his voice even. “Though if there’s something else-”

 _SHIT_.

“Uh, nah, I don’t think there’s something else.” Roman pulled his eyes away from Junior. Tried to think of a drink to ask for to make the conversation less awkward. “Could I get a kiss on the lips?” Roman turned his head, making eye contact with Junior again.

This time, Junior definitely flushed red. He stood up, straightened up, and turned to get a glass down to mix the drink in. Roman watched the entire while, and even bit his lower lip as he watched Junior work behind the bar. Damn, if that man wasn’t attractive.

Junior spoke up as he mixed. “So, is that all you’re here for?”

“What?”

“A kiss on the lips.”

“I was thinking I might dance later tonight.” Roman said. “Maybe come back for another kiss on the lips.”

“Mister Torchwick are you flirting with me?” Junior set the glass down in front of Roman. When Roman looked at the drink, he noticed that there was one more cherry than there usually would have been.

 _Oh_.

“I dunno, Junior.” Roman leaned across the counter. Let his finger travel around the rim of his glass. “Is that what you want?”

“Do you want to go out sometime?” Junior watched as Roman plucked one of the cherries from the top of the drink. Watched as Roman brought it to his lips. Watched as Roman sucked the cherry from its stem.

Roman set the removed stem down on a napkin. Swallowed the cherry. Looked up at Junior. “Mister Xiong, are you asking me on a date?”

“I thought that was clear.”

Roman smiled. Picked up his drink and sipped from it before smiling up at Junior. He set it back down, and stood up, leaning across the bar counter and holding himself up so that he could be at a bit closer to Junior’s height. “How about that kiss on the lips, baby bear?”

Junior flushed. Leaned across the counter and pressed a kiss to Roman’s mouth. Roman smiled into the contact, wanted to reach up and touch Junior more but decided not to for fear of losing his balance. The kiss was lazy. It was imperfect.

It still sent fire singing through Roman’s bones.

When they pulled away finally, Roman smiled up at Junior. “I think I’d like to go out sometime.”

“Tuesday sound good?”

“Tuesday sounds wonderful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	4. Someday - Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anipendragon on tumblr wanted: A Hope We Don’t Get Caught Kiss - Ironqrow

James had been on the way back to the campsite when he felt a pair of hands grab his sweater and pull him back away from the light of the fire. He braced himself, ready to throw a punch at whatever had caught him, but found himself stopping as he was slammed back against a tree, his spine making contact with it immediately.

He grunted.

Opened his eyes.

“Qrow?”

“Hey Jimmy.” Qrow’s grip loosened on his sweater. James managed to relax for a moment, and he stepped away from the tree. Qrow took just a step back, letting his hand slip down James’ body and then back up, cupping the square of James’ jaw. “I wanted to see you.”

“Qrow we can’t-” James cut himself off. Dropped his volume. “Qrow, there are students no more than ten feet away from us.”

“I wanted to see you.” Qrow pushed himself up onto his toes, leaning in to press a kiss to James’ lips. “We haven’t gotten to-”

James placed a hand on Qrow’s shoulder, pushing him down so that Qrow couldn’t make the contact. He could hear the sound of student’s voices, probably talking about the trip into the forest so far. They probably had already picked up on the fact that their two escorts were missing. “Qrow.” James dropped his volume further. “We can’t.” He stepped away, from Qrow, ready to go back to the campsite. He was barely a foot away when he felt Qrow’s hand on his shoulder.

Heard Qrow’s voice, heavy with rejection.

“Jimmy.” A sigh. “Please?”

“Qrow, they don’t know-”

“I know.” Qrow mumbled. “But I miss you.”

James stopped dead in his tracks then. Felt something unpleasant well up in his chest as he turned around, letting his eyes meet Qrow’s. In the darkness, everything looked like it had been washed with blue and grey. They weren’t the colors that belonged on Qrow, James decided.

“We’re going to be done soon.”

“I know.” The sadness in Qrow’s voice felt like a bullet through James’ heart.

He sighed. Turned around to face Qrow. “I want to I just-”

“I know, Jim.” Qrow stepped up close to James, wrapping his arms around James and pulling them close together. He nuzzled into James’ neck.

James suppressed the shiver that ran down his spine. Wrapped his arms around Qrow’s waist and pulled him close. Nuzzled into Qrow’s messy black hair. “You know I love you.”

“I know.” Qrow mumbled. James could feel Qrow’s hands fist in his sweater.

Closed his eyes.

Qrow’s voice. “Please?”

“Ok.”

Qrow shifted in James’ grip. Stood up on his toes to press a kiss to James’ lips, and relaxed his grip so that he could just relax his hands on James’ chest.

The kiss was slow, the kind passed between lovers that had nothing to hide from each other but everything to hide from the world. Every time James moved to pull away, he only felt Qrow pull him closer in. Kiss after kiss bled into each other, until Qrow finally pulled away, lips swollen with love.

James exhaled slowly, bowed his head against Qrow’s. “Head back into the camp first?” It wasn’t a request. “I don’t want to-”

Qrow stepped back up, kissing James to cut him off. Pulled away after a moment. “Of course.”

Finally, Qrow stepped out of James’ grip. The new space between them screamed in its emptiness. James leaned against the tree that Qrow had pinned him down against, and watched as Qrow walked away.

Someday, hiding like this wouldn’t be necessary.

Someday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	5. Catch - Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lbwings sent me this lovely prompt: Catching the other before they fall - Ironqrow

The first drink arrived as a burn in the back of his throat.  
  
It arrived as a punch in the gut.  
  
It arrived as an ointment on a wound that would never heal.  
  
It was the first comfort that had come in a long time.

Every night, he closed hiis eyes and saw it. Saw the body strewn across the arena. Saw pieces of a body strewn across a forest.  
  
Pieces of her. Pieces of him.  
  
The first drink drained. He raised his hand for a second. The bartender didn’t question it. Didn’t question his presence. Didn’t question his unshaved visage. Didn’t question the rasp in his voice. Didn’t question them empty flask at the counter beside him.  
  
Instead, the bartender turned away. Filled a glass with ice and amber liquid.  
  
_Amber_.  
  
The name dragged something up. Something painful. In the haze of his mind, he coulldn’t figure out what it was. Instead of acknowledge it, he squeezed his eyes shut. Tried to push the thoughts back only for more evils to be dragged up instead.  
  
Pain.  
  
Memory.  
  
Bodies in pieces.  
  
He gripped the new glass. Raised it to his lips. Downed most of it in one gulp. This time, the burn was mostly gone. Instead, the drink brought warmth. Comfort. It flowed through him, and for just a moment, he let himself relax against the counter.  
  
He could feel the stubble against the back of his hand. He needed to shave.  
  
He knew that he wouldn’t.  
  
If he looked up, he ws sure that he knew what he’d see. A television screen broadcasting its exhaustive coverage of the events in Vale and _there was nothing new, there was never something new._  
  
If there was something new he wouldn’t have been there.  
  
He sat back up. Finished his drink. Ordered a third.  
  
A voice.  
  
“Don’t serve him.”  
  
“Just get me my drink-”  
  
“I’m serious.” The voice again. A hand reached out, pushing the emptied glass away from him. The bartender took it before any further protest could be made.  
  
Instead, the man at the bar buried his face in his hands.  
  
Inhaled.  
  
Exhaled.  
  
He stood up, reached out and took his flask, shoving it back into his coat and turned to leave the bar. The intruder followed.  
  
“What are you doing here?” The second man asked. “This isn’t like you.”  
  
“I just need to-”  
  
“C'mon.” The man reached out. Put angular hands against square shoulders. “Let’s get you home.”  
  
“Qrow-”  
  
“Jimmy.” Qrow urged James forward, his hands still on James’ shoulders. “What’s going on? This isn’t like you.”  
  
“I don’t want to talk about it.” James shoved his hands deep his pockets. Hung his head as he walked. Silently, he ran through his options. Thought of ways that he could get away from Qrow. Of ways that he could get three more drinks into him without having to go home to the apartment that reminded him of barracks and hospital rooms.  
  
“James.” Qrow’s voice was more insistent. “You _need_ to stop.”  
  
James turned now, facing Qrow directly. Qrow looked unscathed from everything that had happened. Of course he did. He still had people that were actually interested in being aroud him. Not just people who played the part because he had power over them.  
  
The realization made James feel incredibly jealous.  
  
It boiled in his chest. James snapped at Qrow. “I don’t think you have any right to judge someone for drinking.”  
  
And _oh_ that won him a reaction. Qrow froze in place. His eyes, red like rusted metal, widened. His mouth opened for a moment before Qrow steeled himself. Anger split his face. “I’m sorry I _give a shit_ about you, Jimmy.” Qrow stepped away from James. Shoved his hands deep into his pockets so that he looked like an animal ready to strike “ _How dare_ I want to stop someone from drowning in liquor?“  
  
“I don’t _need_ help.” James muttered, venom dripping from every word. “I don’t know what you want from me.”  
  
“I want you to be like yourself.” Qrow snapped back. “You’ve been this since the-”  
  
“Don’t.” _I don’t want to think about it_. “I’m doing fine.” _I can’t sleep without seeing the bodies._ “I just need time off.” _I don’t want to come back_.  
  
Qrow reached out. Grabbed James’ right wrist. Pulled James close to him before James could work it out in his drink addled mind. Massaged the metal, even though he knew there was nothing to massage. Nothing that would have any give. “C'mon Jim. Let me take you home.”  
  
“Why are you doing this?”  
  
“Because you’re the good one.”  
  
“What-”  
  
“You’re the one that has their shit together, Jim.” Qrow pulled on the wrist, bringing James closer to him. “You’re hurting now.”  
  
“I’m not”  
  
“You’re hurting right now.” Qrow wrapped his arms around James now. “I know. But this… this isn’t you. This isn’t how you deal with things.”  
  
James pulled himself way. Pushed Qrow away. “Who told you where I was?”  
  
“Nobody.” Qrow said. “I came on my own.”

James felt his keys in his pocket. He could hail a cab and go back to his apartment without Qrow at any time. He could get out of this. Go back into hiding. But he didn’t hail that cab. He instead looked back at Qrow.

How was Qrow the stable one now? It was a role reversal that he wasn’t anything close to prepared for. It was always him picking Qrow up. Not this.

James _really_ didn’t like it.

“Qrow-” James stepped away. Half stumbled on the second step. “-I don’t need help. Please don’t-”

“You know, I haven’t heard from you since Vale, James. Nobody has.” Qrow stepped forward, wrapped his arms around James. “Please, let me just take care of you.” 

James finally stopped. He let out a long, shaking breath. For just a moment, the world felt like it stood still around him. The watery feeling in his head went away, and he felt grounded. Finally, the word came, just above a whisper. “Okay.”

He let Qrow take his hand. Let Qrow take the lead as they walked back to his apartment together. They didn’t talk along the way. That was okay though. James didn’t really want to talk all that much.

When they stepped inside, James wanted to collapse. Wanted to run to his half-emptied liquor cabinet. Instead, he found himself leaning against the bare wall as Qrow undid his tie. Watched as Qrow went to the kitchen and got him a glass of water.

James made his way over to the couch, where Qrow soon joined him and set the glass of water in his hand. James sipped the water and let Qrow wind around him. Leaned into Qrow’s touches Even let his eyes slip shut for a moment.

“You know I love you, James.”

“I know.” _I don’t know._ “I’m just…”

“Tired, right?” Qrow’s thumb began to rub circles into the back of James’ neck. Worked pain away from scar tissue. “Why did you do this, James?”

“I don’t know.” James rested his head against Qrow’s chest. Listened to the sound of his heartbeat. Even and uninterrupted. Healthy. Strong. Whole. “I just needed time.”

“You need time.”

“I know.” James mumbled the word into Qrow’s chest. Felt his stubble stick to Qrow’s shirt.

Qrow’s fingers found their way to James’ hair. Stroked the grey at James’ temples and helped some of the hurts fade away. James let his eyes slip shut as he relaxed against Qrow. He wanted to cry, but he knew himself well enough to know that no tears would come.

“I love you, James.”

“I know.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t.”

“I love you.” 

“I know.”

“I love you.””

“Qrow?”

“Yeah James?”

“Why are you here?”

“To catch you before you fall.”

“Qrow?”

“Yeah James?”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	6. Everything Burns - Crime Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Anipendragon for this fun prompt: "You're a terrible cook" - Crime Dads.

When Junior arrived home, everything in his apartment was on fire.

No.

That was incorrect.

Most of the apartment was unharmed.

The kitchen though?

That was _definitely_ on fire.

Junior stood at the door. Didn’t bother to slip off his shoes or his vest, instead reaching into his pocket and finding his scroll because he had a feeling that he was going to have to call the fire department at some point. 

He took a step into the apartment. “Roman?”

“-oh god, you’re home.” Roman poked his head out of the kitchen. His hair was frazzled, his eyes were wide, and he looked like he’d gotten himself into trouble somehow. “I am _so_ sorry.”

“What did you do?” Junior rushed further into the apartment, letting the door slam shut behind him. The sight that he was greeted by in the kitchen was less severe than Junior had first thought it would be. There was no visible flame, but there _was_ smoke billowing out of the oven.

“I, uh-” Roman grimaced. “I tried to make something, and then I dropped the pan and it all fell onto the coil things.”

Junior went to the oven, and pulled the door open so that he could get an idea of what he was dealing with here.  Inside, he could see the remnants of some sort of food lying in the bottom of the oven, smoldering and letting off smoke.

He closed the door again and stood up to check that the oven had been turned off, which he wasn’t surprised to find hadn’t happened. With a click, Junior turned off the oven. He sighed, and went to the sink, opening up the window above it in hopes that he’d be able to ventilate the kitchen to some degree.

Finally, Junior spoke. “What were you trying to do?”

“I wanted fries.” Roman said sheepishly. “It just… went poorly.”

“Hey Ro?”

“Yeah Baby Bear?”

“You’re a terrible cook.”

Roman leaned back against the counter and sighed, running a hand through his orange hair. “I just wanted to have something for you to come home to, Junior. I’m sorry.”

Junior stopped. Turned his head. Raised an eyebrow. “Roman, do you think I’m mad at you?”

“You came home to your apartment on fire.” Roman said. “You probably should be.”

There was a moment quiet, as Junior slipped on an oven mitt and began to clean out the mess that had been created inside. “You know I’m not, Roman.” Junior said, his voice quiet. “I really appreciate the gesture.” He thought for a moment, then looked up at Roman, who was still leaning against the counter.

“What?” Roman asked. Blinked.

“Hey, Roman?” Junior said. “Why don’t you order a pizza?”

Roman’s eyes lit up, and he stood up, crossed the kitchen to pull Junior up into a quick kiss, and went into the living room where he could get the phone. “Ask for it to be ordered in an hour exactly,” Junior called from the kitchen. “That gives me a chance to clean up." 

"Alright!” Roman called back.

Junior heard the sound of the phone beeping as Roman ordered a pizza.

Yeah, Roman was a terrible cook.

But Junior didn’t mind. Not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	7. I'm Not Wearing That - Crime Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anipendragon sent this little prompt my way: “I’m not wearing that.” - Crime Dads

“You stole that didn’t you?” Junior stared at the watch, sitting in its box. Across the booth from him, sat Roman, reclined into his seat with one leg crossed over the other. Junior’s eyes flicked from the watch- it was too nice, then up to Roman’s eyes.

Roman looked down at the watch, and let a smile crease his face. “You like it?”

“Roman, answer the question.” Junior felt his jaw tense with the words.

“Only a little.” Roman chuckled, reclining back in the booth a bit further than he had been before. “I wanted to get you something nice.”

“Roman, I’m not wearing that.” Junior reaches out, snapping the box that the watch came in shut before sliding it back across the booth. “The police know that I know everyone and everything. If they show up and I have stolen goods on my wrist that’s very bad. For both of us.”

Realizing that his gift had been declined, Roman’s expression changed. Some of the light faded away, and his expression turned from his usual cocky smile to a pout. “But Baby Bear-”

“Roman, no.” Junior leaned back into the booth and let himself cross his arms over his chest. “I can’t wear this if it’s stolen.”

Roman’s face screwed up halfway, and Junior was left to simply watch the smaller man from across the booth. Try not to think about how he felt about the fact that Roman had brought him stolen goods as a gift.

Roman knew that he wouldn’t wear stolen goods. If he didn’t know, then maybe this transgression would have been more forgivable.

“I want you to have it.” Roman finally said, making sure that his and Junior’s eyes met. “I got it for you.”

“I can’t, Roman.” Junior said. “I need to have my hands free and my sleeves up when I work. If someone comes in looking for information and sees that, I’m in trouble.”

“What if I told you it wasn’t stolen?”

“What?”

Roman shifted in his seat, and shoved a hand into one of his pockets. Junior could hear the sound of something crinkling around inside. Paper, and maybe some sort of foil. Roman removed a slip of paper from his pocket, and slid it onto the table.

Junior hesitated, and reached out, picking up the slip of paper, to see that it was a receipt.

“..Roman?”

“I bought it.” Roman finally spat out. “For you. And I want you to wear it.”

Ok. That sealed it. Something was up. Something was wrong. Junior looked at the box that contained the watch, then back up at Roman. “What’s this about?”

“I already told you-” Roman started, leaning in across the table. “I wanted to get you something nice.”

“But you would have just stolen it if that was all.” Junior sighed.

“I knew you wouldn’t wear it otherwise.” Roman finally admitted. “So… are you going to wear it or not?”

Junior reached across the table, easily able to get Roman’s hand in his own and gently squeezed. “I’ll wear it Roman.”

Just like that Roman’s pout disappeared, replaced with a smirk. “Hey, Baby Bear?” He asked, making his green eyes meet Junior’s grey. “Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Marry me?”

“What?”

Roman looked at the watch, then at Junior’s wrist. “I wanted to ask you to marry me. But I needed to be sure you liked it first.”

Junior blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. This had been Roman’s idea of a proposal? He supposed that this was probably some sort of pre-proposal before Roman decided to go all out and over the top as he was likely to do.

Roman Torchwick was proposing to him.

Junior shifted his grip, gently taking Roman’s hand in both of his and massaging gently at the back of Roman’s hand.

“Yeah.” Junior said, voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll marry you”

Roman smiled. “I’m never going to let you live that down, you know that right?”

“Yeah.” Junior chuckled. “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
>  
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	8. Black and Blue - Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anipendragon requested: “You can trust me.” - Ironqrow

“James!” Qrow pounded on the door with a closed fist, hopeful that the gesture would be enough to make James open the door and talk to him.

As of that moment, James Ironwood had been locked into his apartment for three days. It had been two since anyone had heard from him. On the other side of the door, Qrow could hear the sound of someone inside, moving about, like they were frantically trying to stumble around the space.

“Jim!” Qrow called again, earning no answer. “C’mon, open up. People are worrying about you.” 

Again, there was no answer.

“Goddamnit, James.” Qrow muttered under his breath as he went through his list of options. He figured he could leave the building, turn to a bird, and fly in through James’ window- assuming that James had left one cracked. It was also possible that he had left the blinds closed so that nobody could see in. Busting through the door was an option, though Qrow wasn’t necessarily armed for whatever he would meet on the other side once he made it through.

He could also stand there and keep yelling.

Nah.

That was a bad idea.

One more try.

“James, please.” Qrow pleaded. “Let me in. You can trust me.”

James’ voice came through on the other side. “Qrow, please leave me alone.”

“Nah.” Qrow answered. “I don’t think so. You can open the door or I’ll open it for you, Jimmy.”

On the other side of the door, James swore quietly, though Qrow was able to make out the sound. He heard James move again- still stumbling, he noted, and then heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

The door cracked open, and through it, Qrow could see James’ blue eyes, leading down to the bridge of his nose. James blinked. Swallowed. Pulled the door open.

James did not look good.

There was bruising around the socket of his left arm, like something had tried to snap it off. His hair was disheveled, and there were heavy bags under James’ eyes. If Qrow let his eyes wander down, he would have seen that James’ leg was bandaged.

“What happened to you?” Qrow asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Jim you look like-”

“I know.” James mumbled, stepping deeper into the apartment and hobbling his way over to his bed, where he seated himself. “What do you want, Qrow?”

“I wanted to check in on you.” Qrow said, leaning back against James’ desk, letting his eyes travel up and James’ body. “What happened.”

“Fight.” James muttered. “I wanted some time away so that I could heal.”

“So you’ve locked yourself in your room for three days? James, shouldn’t your aura-”

“Qrow,” James’ voice was gravely serious. “I’m not healthy enough for my aura to heal me like it would you.”

Those words hit Qrow like a bullet. Oh. Qrow blinked, looked down at James’ leg, then at the bruised arm. Then, he realized something. “How are your-”

“I already fixed any damage.” James cut Qrow off. “Everything else is just-” James lifted his left arm, weakly. “You understand, right?”

“Yeah.” Qrow mumbled. “I think so.”

“Why are you here?” James made eye contact.

“I was worried about you.” Qrow shoved his hands into his pocket. Looked down at his feet, then up at James. “Because I love you or something.”

James nodded. “You…” Hesitated. “If you want to stay-”

“I’d love to.” Qrow said, pushing off the desk and approaching James. “But you’re going to have to let me look at your injuries.”

“I know.” James said. “Be gentle.”

Qrow sat down next to James on the bed. Looked at James’ left arm, noting the bruising at the shoulder, and the way that there was more bruising along his forearm near the joints. He reached up. “You trust me?”

“Yes.”

Gently, Qrow pressed his fingers into the bruised area at James’ elbow, earning a hiss. He ran his fingers over the wound, then up James’ arm, feeling nothing wrong besides the bruised areas. Qrow leaned forward and pressed a kiss to James’ shoulder. “No breaks.”

“I could have told you that.” James said. “There’s no breaks on the leg either. Just a laceration which I’ve already stitched up.”

Qrow turned slightly, facing James directly now. “I can trust you?”

“You can trust me.” James whispered. “I just… I want to rest Qrow.”

“Right.” Qrow looks at the bed. It was disheveled, the clearest sign that James had spent his last few days almost entirely in bed. “Lie down.”

“Naptime?” James chuckles as he pushed himself further up into the bed, and laid down. Qrow climbed in next to James, and relaxed into the blankets.

“Yeah.” Qrow leans forward, pressing a kiss to James’ lips. “Naptime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	9. Growl - Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albino-atilla on tumblr prompted: “You think you’re funny?” - Ironqrow

“You know, Jimmy, you seem tense.” Qrow laughed, following James into the elevator that would take them out of Ozpin’s office and back down to the ground level at Beacon. “You might want to loosen up sometime. You’ll look better for it.” 

James stood at parade rest in the elevator and stared at the numbers on the elevator, not wanting to give Qrow the time of day, for risk of encouraging his more… _interesting_ behaviors.  The elevator began its descent with a lurch, and James let his head hang for a moment, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh.

“Jimmy, you paying attention?”

No. He wasn’t going to give in.

“Jimmy?”

Absolutely not.

“Jimmy?”

“What?” James finally snapped, dropping his stance and looking up at Qrow. There were a lot of parts of him that wanted to put Qrow through a wall. “What could you possibly want?”

“Hey, there he is.” Qrow laughed, leaning against the wall, and god, he shouldn’t have looked that good. “Yeah, you seem tense. Got a problem?”

“Only one.” James muttered under his breath, facing forward and watching as the numbers ticked down slowly.

“Aww, Jimmy, are you calling me a problem?” Qrow stepped towards James, half cornering him in, and stepping close into James’ space. “Want to fix it?”

“Qrow, why are you-”

“Let me guess.” Qrow’s red eyes narrowed. “Being so inappropriate?”

James sighed, reached out, and pushed Qrow back with one hand. “Qrow, please leave me alone.”

“I want to get a reaction out of you, Jimmy.” Qrow said, taking the step back away from James. His eyes flicked up and down James’ body, then up to James’ face. “Have I succeeded?”

“Yeah.” James grumbled as the door opened to the elevator. He took the first two steps out, and Qrow followed him out. James looked back at Qrow over his shoulder and sighed. “More than you should have.” The words were barely audible, but James looked forward instead and simply kept his walk towards his own room.

Qrow didn’t let up, following close on James’ heels.

James reached his door, and found Qrow leaning against the wall and watching him the entire time. “C’mon Jimmy, what are you gonna do about this?”

The door unlocked, and James stored his scroll back into his pocket. He inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm himself and looked over at Qrow. Resisted reaching out and putting Qrow through a wall. “Qrow.”

“Yeah, Jim?” Qrow asked, raising an eyebrow. “What’re you thinking?”

“Do you think you’re funny?” James growled the words at Qrow. “Or do you just get off on bothering me?”

Qrow paused. Let a grin split his face. “I could get off on bothering you.”

“ _Qrow_.” James opened the door, stepping into his room halfway. “ _Stop_.”

“I don’t want to though.” Qrow stepped closer, and James stepped back, trying to put space between them. “Why don’t you stop me?”

James sighed. “Qrow, please just leave me alone.”

“You know I live here right too, James?” Qrow laughed. “You can’t stop me like that.” 

“And what would stop you?” James stared at Qrow, gripping the doorframe hard. “Because I am seriously tempted to lock you out right now.”

Qrow’s eyes darkened and his smile deepened. “You could put me through a wall.”

James poked his head out of the door, checking down the hallway. He reached out, grabbed onto Qrow’s shirt, and tugged him through the door before letting the door slam shut behind him. “On the bed.” James growled at Qrow, earning an instant reaction. “ _Now_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	10. Galaxy - Emmercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albino-atilla sent me this one: "You're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me." - Emmercury

The galaxy stretched on infinitely above them, and the grass stretched below them forever, at least beyond the confines of their blanket. They’d come out late that night. Run from Cinder. Found a place in a clearing where they could see everything coming their way for miles.

When Mercury looked up at the sky, the fracturing of the moon didn’t bother him.

It was different.

Strange.

Corrupt.

Beautiful.

He didn’t know how long he stared at it. How long he laid there listening to the quiet sound of Emerald’s breathing at his side. It was his watch, in several hours he’d have to sit up and wake her up, and then it’d be his turn to sleep.

There was a large part of him that didn’t want to wake her. That didn’t want to disturb her rest, when they’d been running for so long. Emerald deserved her peace, much more than he did.

At Mercury’s side, Emerald shifted slightly. Underneath her, the blanket shifted. He stood up, stepped off of the blanket, and picked up his side of it before draping it over Emerald’s body, tucking her in as gently as he could.

She shifted slightly. Picked up her head and looked up at him with tired eyes. “Mercury?”

“It’s alright.” Mercury answered, voice barely above a whisper. He reached out, brushed her hair away from her face and watched as she settled back into the blanket. “I’ll wake you up when it’s your turn to keep watch, ok?”

“Alright.” Emerald whispered. “Goodnight Mercury.”

“Goodnight, Emerald.” Mercury laid back down in the grass and crossed his arms behind his head to act as a pillow, and he stared at the sky. Watched how the stars seemed to fade in and out, their light forever weakening and darkening.

He heard the quiet sound of Emerald’s snore, and when he looked over at her, he saw that she was asleep. And oh, how he loved her. How he needed her.

He whispered now. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Blinked. Turned his face so he could watch her rest. “Thank you, Emerald.”

Emerald didn’t shift. She didn’t wake.

He wasn’t sure whether he was glad for that or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	11. Kiss and Tell - Crime Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anipendragon prompted me with this: Crime Dads - "Is that... lipstick, on your collar?" (pref with some James or Qrow in there as a bro)
> 
> I hope you enjoy, friend!

Qrow swirled his glass, frowning as he realized that the alcohol to ice ratio was running dangerously low. He looked up, realizing that the barkeeper had changed at some point in the evening, or at least between drinks. The meek man that had been there before had been replaced by a hulking beast of a man that was either the sweetest person alive or the scariest, depending on who you asked. 

“Hey, Junior.” Qrow rasped the man’s name out, pushing his empty glass away from him towards the bartender. “Wanna get me another drink?”

Junior raised an eyebrow and stepped up to the edge of the counter, where he planted his hands on his sides before making eye contact with Qrow. “What’ll it be?” 

“I was thinking that I”d like a-” Qrow stopped. Stared at Junior. “Wait, is that-” 

“What?” Junior half growled the word out. 

“ _ Is that lipstick on your collar? _ ” Qrow half-stood up in his seat, eyes zeroing in on what appeared to be a stain against the white of Junior’s collar, in a shade of pinkish brown that was probably meant to look like someone’s natural lip color. 

Junior’s eyes widened. He reached up, trying to find it with his fingers, but to no avail. The way that Junior’s neck turned with the motion exposed a bruiselike mark on his skin that all but answered Qrow’s question. 

“I think it’s lipstick, Junior.” Qrow chuckled. “You know, maybe bringing your boyfriend to work isn’t the best idea.”    


“He came to bother me.” Junior sighed. “As usual. Typical Roman, you know?” 

“I get that.” Qrow said. “But maybe next time you should-” 

“Be more careful?” Junior joked, holding up a bottle of something in Qrow’s line of sight, which earned him a thumbs up from Qrow. “That’s awful funny coming from the guy with no self control.”    


“I’m _happy_ with no self control.”    


Junior got Qrow a new glass, pouring some of the bottle into it and beginning to grab additional ingredients by intuition. “Roman just likes coming by to see me. And it isn’t as though the boys don’t know about it.” 

“Makes sense.” Qrow says, watching the glass as it was filled. “Is he around tonight?”

“Afraid not.” Junior sighed, finally sliding the glass across the counter to Qrow. “He said he had somewhere to be, so he came by early to visit.”    


“Visit.” A chuckle. “Sure, if you want to call it that, Junior, we can call it that.” 

“Don’t act like you don’t do the same thing.” Junior growled at Qrow, leaning back against the counter. The bar was mostly empty of people looking for drinks at the moment, since most of the patrons of the bar had gone to the dance floor instead. 

“I don’t try to deny it.” Qrow says, lifting a hand to show a kiss-bruised wrist. “But seriously. Lipstick on the collar isn’t a good look on you.” 

“I don’t mind it.” Junior smiles. “It keeps people from bothering me. They know I’m with someone. I like that.” 

Qrow lifted his drink, and smiled into its rim. “I get that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	12. Oh Captain, My Captain - Seamonkeys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anipendragon sent me a prompt for "You my friend, are a filthy sinner and I wholeheartedly approve" and Seamonkeys. This is the result. 
> 
> My apologies to Walt Whitman.

"Neptune?!"

Sun pushed the door open to the temporary dorm that Team SSSN was staying in. It sounded like nobody was inside, and if anyone was inside, they weren't paying much attention to their surroundings.

Not hearing an answer, Sun stopped at the door to slip out of his sneakers. He looked down, seeing that Neptune's were there, stored neatly against the wall with their toes touching it. Sun's shoes sat where they slipped off, one on its side while the other was upright, in haphazard positions that made it so that every time Scarlet came in, they tripped over them.

There was however, the sound of music playing, though it was the muted sound of music that was blasting through someone's headphones. Sun walked through the tiny foyer of their room and saw that Neptune was in bed, lying on his stomach and half-curled around his pillow and a book in his hands.

A book that wore a light blue cloth cover, an obvious sign that whatever Neptune was reading, he really didn't want for his teammates to know what it was.

Neptune didn't look up to see Sun, his face and eyes trained intently on the book in front of him.  Sun saw Neptune lift a hand to rub at his eyes for just a moment before looking back down at the book, still not lifting his head.

Sun frowned and padded across the room, before leaping onto Neptune's bed, bouncing and jostling the blue haired boy, causing him to drop his book and his headphones to slide off of his head.

"Sun?!" Neptune jolted, scrambling to get his book, only for Sun to pick it up and try to figure out what page Neptune had been on when he'd been disturbed. However, he wasn't ready for what he read.

> _“Oh Captain, My Captain,” First Mate Rogers said, his head tilted back as he stared down into Captain Essex’s eyes, running a hand down his captain’s chest. “I’m ready for your cum.”_

Sun blinked, looking between Neptune and then back at the book. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could finish, Neptune cut him off.

"I can explain."

"Neptune-"

"Dude, I'm serious, I can explain-"

"Dude, it's fine." Sun laughed, flipping the page and reading the next passage in the book. "Is this-?"

Neptune looked away from Sun, a red blush rising rapidly to his cheeks. "Yeah." He admitted. "It is."

Sun’s face screwed up as he read the next passage, settling into the blankets beside Neptune and even letting his tail wind around Neptune in a half-cuddle. “You know, I didn’t peg you to be the type to read sailor porn.”

“I-” Neptune sighed, rolling and making himself more comfortable on the bed. “I got it from Blake, okay?”

“Hey, Nep?”

“Yeah dude?”

Sun turned, facing Neptune and smiling widely at his partner. “You, my friend-” 

“Dude-”

“Are a filthy sinner.” Sun finished his sentence, passing the book back into Neptune’s hands. “And I wholeheartedly approve.”

Neptune didn’t seem to have expected that, instead left blinking his confusion away. “You… what?” 

“I approve.” Sun grinned up at Neptune as he laid his head on Neptune’s pillows. “Read it to me.”

Neptune sighed heavily and snuggled in against Sun, resting his head on Sun’s chest. “Fine. But just this once.”

“I’m good with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	13. Sweet Surrender - Crime Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anipendragon sent me the prompt on tumblr: "I've been buying the wrong underwear."
> 
> The drink in this is called a Sweet Surrender. 1/2 oz Peach Brandy and 1 oz of orange juice shaken with ice before being strained into a glass that's had its rim wiped with an orange and then dipped in sugar. Top off with chilled champagne. 
> 
> Raspberries were just a something extra.

Roman hopped up onto the bar conter beside Junior, leaning back across the counter to get close to Junior and grinning up at him. "Hey there Baby Bear."

Junior, who was focused intently on cleaning off the rim of a glass that had been stained with pink pigment from someone's lipstick didn't give Roman much in the way of attention, only letting his eye flick over to Roman for a second before refocusing his attention on the glass in front of him. "Hello, Roman."

The lack of close interest earned a frown from Roman. The thinner man shifted his position on the counter, feeling deeply uncomfortable in his position as his underwear started riding up in the least comfortable way possible. Roman slid off of the counter and down into a bar stool, which he used to lean across the bar and smile. "Can I get a drink?"

In one motion, Junior turned the now clean martini glass upside down before hanging it from a rack above his head where it would be able to dry. "You could." Junior said, bringing his arm back down so that he could lean back against the counter behind him. "What would you like?"

Roman hummed, shifting again in his seat as he tried to relieve his discomfort. "Let me think-" He peers across the bar, pretending to be looking at the bottles that were over Junior's shoulder, despite the fact that his eye roamed up and down Junior's body. "How about a Sweet Surrender?"

This order earned a raised eyebrow from Junior, who reached up to a nearby rack, from which he pulled down a champagne flute. "Why do I get the feeling that's not all you want?"

"Because it's not all I want?" Roman chuckled, tracing a pattern on the bartop with his fingertip. "Could you add some raspberries to that for me, Baby Bear?" Roman's grin deepened further. "I promise I'll make it up to you-"

Junior raised a hand, effectively cutting Roman off before the man could continue. "I'll make your drink, can you wait?"

Roman squirmed in his seat again. "Of course." He chuckled, settling again as he watched Junior open up a small fridge that was behind the bar to pull out a small container that held nothing but orange slices.

The container was set down on the countertop in front of Junior, and a single slice of orange was removed, only to be wiped around the mouth of the champagne flute that Junior had selected before being skinned and tossed away. A small bowl of sugar was opened, and Junior dipped the glass in, coating its rim in the sugar before closing the sugar container again and pushing it aside.

Next up was a steel shaker. Junior set it down in front of him before filling it with ice from the specialized cooler built into the bar and grabbing a bottle that Roman wasn’t able to identify from the wall behind him and a second unlabeled bottle of orange liquid from the fridge. One bottle after the other was overturned, the liquid inside pouring out in timed measurements. Junior never got his measurements wrong.

Junior capped the shaker, and quickly began to shake the 2 drink mixture inside before straining it out into the champagne flute, which simply left Roman shaking with anticipation.

The liquor mix was topped off with some chilled champagne, and then the remaining orange rind was set on top at the rim as a garnish. Junior focused on the drink in front of him and frowned after a moment, realizing that he'd missed something. He went to the fridge, getting a plastic container of raspberries out which was quickly flipped open and two or three berries were removed.

They were dropped into the drink mixture, and then crushed against the side of the glass with a small spoon. Satisfied with his work, Junior set the drink down on a napkin in front of Roman for consumption.

Roman eyed the drink, smiled, and reached out, sipping at it and shivering. "That." He started. "Is a good drink."

"Thank you." Junior chuckled, leaning back against the counter behind him. "It's a good recipe."

Roman squirmed again in his seat, half trying to undo the wedgie that was forming, and half trying to catch Junior's attention. This time, it seemed to work. From across the bar, Junior's eyebrow raised, grey eyes flicking up and down Roman's body for just a moment.

"Is… there something wrong?" Junior stepped forward, pushing himself upright and craning his neck to make sure that there wasn't anyone trying to bother Roman that night. "Do you want me to-"

"What?" Roman chuckled, running his finger around the rim of his glass before sucking off some of the sugar. "No."

"So the squirming?"

"I think that I've been buying the wrong underwear." Roman grinned into the words, bowing his head slightly and staring at Junior through his red hair. "It's been quite a distraction."

Junior seemed dumbstruck.

Roman tilted his head innocently- an act if it was anything. "You know, I was thinking that I was going to finish this drink, and then head back to my apartment to fix this underwear issue."

"That… seems good." Junior managed. "I hope the rest of your evening is goo-"

"You know." Roman half stood up, leaning partially across the bar counter to look up at Junior more through his hair. "I was thinking, getting some help with that change of underwear doesn't seem like a bad idea."

"Are you-"

"Wanna come help me out, Baby Bear?"

Junior swallowed. Roman grinned.

"Finish your drink, then we'll go."

"Thanks." Roman chuckled, seating himself again on his barstool and picking up the glass, lifting it to his lips and sipping from it as though it were the nectar of the gods.

Ten minutes later, Junior found someone to cover at the bar, and they made their way back to Roman's apartment for the night.

As it turned out, Roman's thong was quite easy to get off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	14. Long Weekend - Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> albino-atilla on tumblr prompted me with: The washing machine broke, I almost lost my keys, the car got dented, and a wasp got into the house and hijacked the bedroom for four days! Four. Days." - Ironqrow

James came home late at night from a week-long stay in Mistral, where he'd had about fifteen meetings to attend and had spent a lot of energy discussing matters of national security. It was important work, but it was exhausting, and so now, he was finally stumbling home after a week away and looking forward to curling up in bed alongside Qrow.

What he came home to was _not_ the situation that he'd expected.

The living room, which had been spotless when James had left a week before looked like an absolute warzone, and in the middle of it, where the coffee table would normally be, Qrow had built some sort of nest for himself to stay in.

James' mind raced with a thousand possibilities as to what could have happened. Had Qrow's nieces come over to visit and the house was just never put back together properly?

It was then that he noticed the empty bottles on the floor next to where Qrow was sleeping, all arranged in a neat row. There had to be five of them, and James got the sickening feeling that this was just the absolute tip of the iceberg for how much Qrow had been drinking in his absence.

James flicked on the light and pulled off his shoes at the door before going to where Qrow was. He stared down at Qrow's sleeping form and frowned. He lowered himself down to the floor next to Qrow, seating himself there before pulling off his glove and reaching out to brush Qrow's face with the cold metal of his hand.

"Qrow."

Qrow jolted awake, his red eyes wide for a moment before focusing on James. Once Qrow had realized where he was, he sagged back into the nest of blankets and groaned. "Jimmy?"

"Hey." James said with a hushed voice. "I just got in."

Qrow forced himself upright, rubbing at his eyes before leaning over towards James and pressing himself against James' side, resting a head on his husband's shoulder and fisting his hands in James' shirt. "Missed you." Qrow finally mumbled.

"I missed you too." James whispered back, raising a hand to brush Qrow's hair away from his face. "Why are you sleeping out here?"

"There's a wasp in the bedroom." Qrow said into James' shirt, though the sound was muffled. "I didn't want to get it with my sword."

James blinked, a little bit dumbstruck. "Ok." He finally said. "C'mon, get up, I'll take care of the wasp. How long has it been there?"

"Four days." Qrow managed the words through a yawn. "Please never leave me here alone again."

"Uh-"

"It's been the worst, Jim." Qrow pulled away now, making direct eye contact between the two of them for the first time since James had arrived home. "The washing machine broke-"

"Wha-"

"I almost lost my keys-"

"Qrow?"

"The car got dented-"

"You dented my ca-"

"And a wasp got into the house and hijacked the bedroom for four days!" Qrow was babbling, and James was having a hard time getting a word in edgewise as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to say to the list of issues that Qrow had laid out that had happened over the course of the last week.

He inhaled deeply, and finally spoke. " _Qrow_ -"

"It's been four days, Jim." Qrow continued, hands fisting in James' shirt. " _Four. Days._ "

James raised his hands, detaching himself from Qrow so that he could at least have a chance at trying to figure out what he was supposed to do, or how he was supposed to fix things. "Qrow, listen to me."

"I-"

" _Qrow_." James put on the most commanding voice that he could, grimacing at its use. He'd had to use that voice a lot over the course of the last week. And he really didn't like having to use what Qrow referred to as his 'General voice.' "We're going through this one by one. Do you have your keys?"

"They're in the bedroom." Qrow managed, pressing his hand to his left eye and rubbing at the socket. "With the wasp."

Figures.

"Okay." James continued. "The washing machine?"

"It doesn't spin anymore." Qrow explained, looking up at James. "I tried to fix it but-"

James sighed. "I'll take a look at it in the morning, okay?" He looked away, to see the empty glass bottles and grimaced before looking back over at Qrow. "And my car?"

"That-" Qrow cut himself off, face screwing up as he tried to piece together how the car had gotten dented over the course of the week. "I think it happened because.." Qrow frowned. "I think it got bumped when I went to get groceries."

James sighed, running his hand over his face and inhaling deeply. When he let the breath out, he spoke again. "And there's a wasp in the bedroom."

Qrow nodded. "Shit, you're mad aren't yo-"

"No, Qrow." James said, voice terrifyingly calm. "I'm not mad, just-"

"Shit Jimmy, don't say it-"

"Disappointed."

"Shit, there it is." Qrow mumbled, pushing his hair back out of his face and letting his hand fist in the dark locks. "I'm sorry Jim, I really tried-"

"I know." James said, letting his hands wind together in front of him, elbows rested on his knees. "I'll deal with it all in the morning. And you are making me breakfast."

"That's all?" Qrow raised an eyebrow, like he wasn't quite understanding what James was saying. "You sure?"

"Yes." James managed. "You're making me breakfast, and accompanying me on the errands I'll have to run."

"And once everything is fixed?"

James shot Qrow a pointed look that answered Qrow's question. Qrow's eyes widened for just a moment in recognition of what James meant. He opened his mouth, but paused, unsure of what to say before finally coming up with a weak question. "And for now?"

"For now," James began, "you are going to scoot over, and we are going to sleep."

"Yeah?" 

"I've missed you, Qrow." James sighed. "And I wanted to spend my first night home with you."

Qrow rearranged the blankets, making extra room for James before lying back into the mess of blankets, pillows, and couch cushions.

James sank into the blankets beside him and let his eyes flick shut as he wound himself around Qrow's body. Their fingers tangled together, and James nuzzled into the top of Qrow's head, mostly just glad to be home in the arms of his lover.

The laundry list of chores that he had to deal with could wait.

Tonight, they were just going to be together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	15. Horizon - Emmercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anipendragon prompted me on tumblr: "Rise and Shine, Sweet Thing" with Emmercury. 
> 
> A semi-follow up to Galaxy (ch. 10 in this fic.)

Morning split the horizon with sunrise, and as he did many mornings, Mercury didn’t move. Instead, he just laid in place, happy to hear Emerald’s quiet breathing behind him as they laid there in the grass with their one blanket acting as their only warmth for the night.

They had to get moving soon. Mercury knew this, but he didn’t have to be the one to wake Emerald, though it was a task that always inevitably fell to him. Instead, he laid there in the grass beside her, doing his best to ignore the way that the morning dew left him with chills and made his legs feel wrong and hurt and cold.

She was exhausted. So was he. They’d both been running for a while, doing their best to get away before Cinder could come around and find them again. She’d been the one to run first, and Mercury had been happy to follow after.

But they were both so, so tired now. Now, both of them were fighting with the fact that they were hungry, and the fact that unless they got out of the kingdom of Vale, they were probably both going to be dead. It was a surprise every night that the two of them were able to slow down long enough to be able to sleep.

They _needed_ to get going.

Mercury didn’t want to think about what would happen if the two of them didn’t start moving soon. He didn’t know what they would encounter first. Didn’t want to think about what they’d have to face.

Grimm they could handle right now.

A rogue huntsman was a maybe.

Cinder though?

There was no chance if Cinder found them.

At his side, Emerald sniffled quietly and shook Mercury back to reality. They had to get going. He had to wake her up, get her on her feet, and they had to get out of the field that they’d stopped to rest in and get back on their way.

Mercury shifted his body slightly, trying to ignore the way that Emerald was pressed up against him. He softened his voice, leaned in, and he spoke up. “Emerald.” He said her name, quietly. With one arm, he gently shook her shoulder. “Emmy, get up.”

Emerald groaned quietly, and pulled the blanket tighter around her self, which meant that she was also pulling it off of Mercury. “ _Five more minutes_.” The girl groaned into the blanket, burying her face in it so that she didn’t have to deal with the way that the sunlight was becoming more and more prominent over the world.

For just a moment, Mercury felt guilty. She looked so tired, so adorable wrapped up in the blankets. But he couldn’t just let the two of them stay in the field there, vulnerable as anything. He frowned, and curled himself up around Emerald a little more before pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Emmy, it’s time to get up.” He whispered this time, letting his eyes slip shut as he got closer. “We have to get going-”

Emerald picked her head up and she stared at him with frustrated red eyes. “What do you want?”

Mercury got up and brushed any dirt and dead grass that had stuck to his clothes away with a chuckle. He focused in on Emerald, and stood up tall, stretching for a moment. “Rise and shine, sweet thing.” He laughed as he watched her try to bury herself back in the blankets so that she didn’t have to acknowledge that it was time to get going again.

“ _Why_.” Emerald hissed the word out, and Mercury couldn’t help but to shake his head at her frustration. “Why did you have to wake me up?”

“Because we can’t afford to be waiting here for too long.” Mercury answered. “You know why.”

Emerald sat up and pushed her long green hair out of her face. It was disheveled, and she looked like she could be snapped in half at any second.

Mercury felt a serious pang of guilt at the realization that neither of them had gotten to eat lately.

“I hate you.”

“I know.” Mercury answered. He didn’t let the words get him down. It was just how Emerald expressed love, after all. “But we do have to get going.”

Emerald nodded, slowly. She stood up with the blankets still wrapped around her, and she looked impossibly small amongst them. Mercury frowned, thinking over what he could do to make this morning a little bit easier on Emerald. If she was hungry, then Mercury was willing to be that she was about to spiral back down into a place where she didn’t want to be.

He couldn’t let that happen.

“If you want, I could carry you.” Mercury offered. “I think there’s a village not too far off from here. We could stop in, get something to eat-”

“ _Please_.” Emerald answered. “I could _kill_ for something to eat.”

It wasn’t an idle threat by any means.

Mercury stepped close to her, and wrapped his arms around Emerald before pulling her close to him. His fingers found the edge of the blankets, and he gently wrapped it tighter around her, for just a minute. When they got going, if he was going to carry her, the blanket was going to have to go.

“I’m serious.” Mercury whispered, bowing his head against Emerald’s. “I can carry you.”

“Yes.” Emerald mumbled. “Please. If it means you’ll let me rest again.”

There was that pang of guilt again. Mercury leaned in and pressed a kiss to Emerald’s forehead. “Get ready to go, I’ll carry you.”

He released her, and went to the small fire that the two of them had set up and began to kick dirt over it so that they wouldn’t be as easily tracked down in the case that someone wanted to find them. They had to keep going, no matter what the cost.

Even if it meant that he had to carry Emerald on his back from town to town, he was glad to keep going.

It kept both of them safe, and that was all that Mercury wanted at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	16. Corn Dogs - Emmercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercury and Emerald stop for a bite to eat before they go to work in Vale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Prepare to be amazed" is the prompt for this one, and it comes courtesy of anipendragon. So this chapter has some... implications about what happens next and I'm only a little emotional and completely not sorry.

The trip to Vale from Mistral had been a long one, mostly spent in airships that left them jetlagged and exhausted. There were a lot of reasons that neither of them were very happy about it. Cinder was up their asses about her Grand Nefarious Schemes needing to go perfectly, they hadn’t bothered to get food, and now Mercury was walking through a new city with a very grumpy Emerald.

“This is _bullshit._ ” Mercury groaned as he put his hands behind his head as the two of them walked through the streets together. He didn’t know much about what their plans for the day were going to be aside from the fact that they were going to be visiting a bookstore later on to deal with a situation that had arisen. “We get dragged halfway across the world, dropped in a city we don’t know, and she tells us to keep our noses clean when we haven’t even done anything wrong.”

“And she hasn’t even had the decency to feed us.” Emerald laughed. She was smiling, almost cheerful looking. “How dare she leave us to our own devices.”

“Right?” Mercury chuckled. He stepped just a bit in front of Emerald and locked his eyes with the girl’s. “What are we supposed to do while we’re here?”

“I don’t know, enjoy the culture of a new city? Sightsee?” Emerald stopped where she was and looked up, admiring a statue of some old nobody that probably didn’t matter anymore. “It’s not that bad Mercury. Besides, it’s a city.”

“So there are plenty of suckers to pickpocket, right?”

“That’s _every_ city.” Emerald laughed. “I dunno, it’s just nice seeing a new place.”

There was a quiet that formed between the two of them, only interrupted by the sound of Emerald’s heels against the pavement. Mercury couldn’t help but to scowl. He was hungry, and he was tired, and somehow Emerald’s mood wasn’t making being in Vale much better.

“Okay, so it’s not Mistral.” Mercury said with a groan. “But can we _please_ at least get something to eat. If I have to deal with Torchwick’s mess, I don’t want it to be on an empty stomach.”

“*We* have to deal with his mess.” Emerald said, shooting him a slight glare. “And fine, we’ll get something to eat. You’re just picking the cart.”

“You’re kidding.”

“You want to eat?”

Mercury groaned loudly again. “I can’t believe you’re making me do all the work.”

“ _You’re_ doing all the work?” Emerald stopped, and Mercury stopped alongside her, not entirely sure what it was that had made her stop. He looked at her, and then followed the line of her gaze over to a food cart, with a vendor that looked entirely too cheerful.

Her eyes slid over to him. “You in the mood for corn dogs?”

“Food is food.” Mercury shrugged and rocked back on his heels for a moment. “Think you can hustle him?”

“I don’t _need_  to hustle him.” Emerald said with a roll of her eyes. “Just stay out of the way and prepare to be amazed.”

_Scoff._ “Please.”

Emerald shot him a harsh glare and rolled her eyes before she started on her way towards the vendor. Mercury realized that he probably should get out of the way so that she could do her thing.

He slipped into an alleyway and leaned against the wall at the point where he could get the best look at what Emerald was doing.

He watched her walk up to the vendor, with her hands behind her back as she postured herself to be as innocent as possible. She almost looked like she could have been a normal student, or like she was just a civilian.

But Mercury knew better. He didn’t like the innocent look much on Emerald- it wasn’t her. The girl that was talking to and flirting with the vendor wasn’t _his_ Emerald. No, she was just a poor copy that came out once in a while when the real Emerald deemed fit.  

She may have flirted and talked for half a minute- just long enough to place an order before he saw her carefully step around the cart and the vendor.

A spider with a fly caught in her snare.

He watched as she began getting a few corn dogs, tossing them all onto a paper plate haphazardly. Once in a while, she’d pick her head up long enough that she could check that nobody was watching aside from Mercury, but she took her time while the vendor made a corn dog from scratch like absolutely nothing was wrong.

She returned to her place where she’d been standing before and took the corn dog that the vendor offered. He didn’t see her exchange money for it, or even bother to hide what she’d taken, and then she was getting some small plastic cups of condiments.

Normally, she wouldn’t have done that.

Mercury wondered if she was just trying to spoil him.

Emerald joined him in the alley and offered the plate of corn dogs. “Want to find somewhere to enjoy these?”

“You didn’t pay that poor man.” Mercury chuckled as he took a corn dog off of the top of the plate. “How ever will he pay his bills?”

“He’ll get by.” Emerald laughed. The two of them began walking out the other side of the alley. They could easily get a few blocks away, find a place to sit and enjoy their meal, and then they would be fine.

Besides, to anyone who hadn’t seen Emerald’s robbery, they would just be two kids who had bought a plate of food to share.

Mercury raised the corn dog to his lips and bit off part of it as they stepped out onto a fairly crowded street. He hummed, feeling mostly content and then looked over at Emerald. “Should we find that store?”

“Yeah.” Emerald laughed. “Probably.”

“What was it called again?”

“The card said Tukson’s Book Trade.” Emerald said with a sigh. “Should be easy enough to find.”

“You want to do the talking or?”

“I’ll do the talking.” Emerald laughed. “Besides, you can’t talk with a mouth full of corn dog.”

Mercury shook his head and swallowed. His eyes locked onto her, and he couldn’t think of anything good for him to say to her.

“Problem?” Emerald asked, eyes narrowing again in the same way that she always did when she was frustrated.

“Nah.” Mercury chuckled. “You’re just pretty amazing is all.”

Emerald smiled and he almost thought that he saw her flush slightly. “I know.”


	17. A Matter of Reputation - Crime Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anipendragon prompted on tumblr: "I accidentally robbed a bank" + crime dads. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it friend!

“Junior!”

Oh god.

On the list of voices and words that Junior needed to hear that night, Roman’s voice as he called his name and stormed into the club was _very_ low on Junior’s list. He didn’t want to see this because usually, Roman turning up at the club like this meant that he was probably looking for a place to hide out until something blew over.

And in this case, Junior really, _really_ didn’t want to know what it was.

He set down the glass that he had in his hand and looked up at Roman, not at all sure that he wanted to know what the damage was.

The first thing that Junior noticed was that Roman looked exhausted, frazzled, and mildly panicked. His hair was out of order, and his hat was sitting on his head lopsidedly. Most conspicuously, Roman was carrying a bag with him that was filled to the brim with something.

Junior realized quickly that he probably didn’t want to know what that was all about.

“Roman.” Junior greeted the other man once Roman got up to the side of the counter. Roman looked up at him with wide eyes and exhaled quickly, tossing the bag onto the table.

To Junior’s surprise, lien cards spilled out everywhere. It just left him wondering what the hell Roman had gotten himself into, and whether or not this was going to be a mess that Junior could actually help to clean up or not. He stepped back away from the counter, looked over the mess of cards there, then looked up at Roman.

“You have two minutes.” Junior growled.

For just a second, a lot of the tension in Roman’s body seemed to flow out. He leaned forward against the counter and let his head drop as he tried to catch his breath. Once he was ready, he looked up at Junior with those too-green eyes and cracked a slight smile.

“Okay, so you’re going to have to just believe me on this?”

“I’m listening?” Junior wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what this was all about. He wanted to know even less now.

“Okay, so I may have _accidentally_ robbed a bank.”

 _“You-”_ Junior sputtered, trying to think of something to say. Anything to say that would sound halfway intelligent instead of just standing there feeling completely flustered. _“How?”_

Roman shrugged, seemingly as confused by the whole thing as Junior was. “Reputation I guess?” He answered, now pushing himself upright. “They saw me come in with a bag and I guess they just kind of assumed?”

“Why did you-”

“I was going to get groceries after?”

Okay, so this was actually as bad and as weird as it sounded. Junior let his eyes scan over the lien that covered his counter and sighed heavily. In theory, it was probably best for him to help Roman avoid the police, but at the same time, there was part of him that wanted to just help the guy out by explaining the misunderstanding.

Not that he expected anyone would listen to it.

Junior looked up and down the bar and then sighed. He reached down into the depths of his pockets and found his keys that would open up one of the back rooms of the club. With some hesitation, he held the keys out. “Clean this up, and I’ll let you hide in the storage room for a bit, got it?”

Roman blinked, and all at once he seemed to relax slightly,  He halfway climbed up onto the counter and leaned across it to press a hard kiss to Junior’s lips before snatching the keys out of his hand. Roman grinned widely.

“Thanks for the help, teddy.” Roman purred, before sliding off the counter and beginning to clean up the mess of lien with a blushing Junior’s help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


	18. Be Cool - Seamonkeys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rainy days suck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt was from albino_yeti, and it was an interesting one because it was based off of lyrics from "Neon," one of the songs from the RWBY volume 3 soundtrack- "I'm cool like the rain and I'm hot like the sun." So this happened. I don't know what it is. Enjoy!

Sun got back to Team SSSN’s dorm a little bit late that day. There were a lot of reasons for it, mostly pertaining to the fact that he’d wanted to get something to eat before he finally retired and had to deal with his teammates. 

He’d only managed to get halfway to the dorm before the downpour started. It wasn’t the soft kind of drizzle that Sun was used to. No, it was fast and mostly sudden, with every little that could probably make it make sense. 

In theory. Sun wasn’t exactly they type to bother with watching weather reports- that was more Neptune or Sage’s thing. 

Sun had made the quick decision to sprint the rest of the way to his dorm, but it hadn’t been enough. He still ended up coming in with his clothing soaked wet and his shoes feeling uncomfortable as the water sank into the soles. 

And that wasn’t even getting into the way that the water made his hair fall flat and clung to the soft golden hair on his tail.

All in all, it wasn’t a very comfortable experience. 

He pushed the door open to find that the dorm was mostly empty, aside from Neptune, who was sitting on his bed with crossed legs and pouring over a textbook with his glasses on.

It may have been the least cool that Neptune had ever looked, Sun thought. It was almost funny, but he didn’t say anything about it. 

He kicked the door shut behind him and saw Neptune jerk upright. 

“Hey.” Sun said as he crossed the room and slipped out of his soaked shirt. He dropped it down on the floor next to his bed before flopping down onto Neptune’s. “So its wet outside.” 

Neptune set his book down and just looked at Sun. Sun caught the way that Neptune’s eyes flashed up and down his chest for a second and the way that his breathing hitched for just a moment. 

“Uh, yeah, I guess it is.” Neptune tried to flash a smile at Sun as he took off his glasses. “Do you need something?” 

“Nah, not really.” Sun rolled onto his stomach and looked up at Neptune. “What’re you up to?” 

“Studying.” Neptune said with a sigh. “I didn’t want to have to worry about Professor Verbena’s exam next week.” 

“What’s it on again?” 

“Uh, deadly plants. Survival stuff, you know?” 

Sun shot Neptune a look. “Okay, so you could keep doing that, or-” Sun flipped over again and arranged himself so that he could rest his head on Neptune’s leg. “You could play Total Annihilation 3 with me instead of that.” 

Neptune shifted slightly and looked down at Sun. “I think I should study.”

“Or you could be cool-”

“ _I’m always cool.”_

_“_ Then entertain me!” Sun cried as he reached up to poke at the tip of Neptune’s nose. “It’s a rainy day, things are already going to be boring enough. Lets just have fun.” 

Neptune shook his head and sighed. “If I say yes will you study with me later?” 

“Yeah, sure thing, no problem.” Sun sat up and grinned at Neptune for just a second. “Should I go get it set up?” 

“It already should be from last time.” Neptune said as he twisted in his place so that he could get his scroll. 

Sun smiled and turned on Neptune’s bed. “You’re the best.” 

Neptune blushed and laughed. “Nah, I’m fine.” 

Sun leaned forward and pressed his lips to Neptune’s and smiled into the kiss. “I’m gonna beat you.” 

“Dude, be cool.” 

Sun pulled away and twisted on the bed so that he could rest his head against Neptune’s chest. “Nah.”


	19. Formal - Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anipendragon asked: "Please don't make me socialize" + Ironqrow. 
> 
> Hope you like it, friend!

“Your job is the _worst_.”

James ignored the sound of Qrow’s whining as he slid the silver pin into place above his tie. His head was tilted back slightly, and he knew that even the slightest mistake meant that he would end up stabbing himself with the pin.

“I mean, who even _cares_ about a planning commission.”

James attached the pin in place and watched his reflection in the mirror with a bored expression as he straightened it and adjusted his tie.

“Are you listening to _anything_ I’m saying?”

A heavy sigh escaped James and he turned to face Qrow directly. Qrow was sitting on the edge of his bed- though it was more often a shared bed. Just not officially. To no surprise, Qrow was sitting with his dress shirt only half-done, and looking more than just a little bit annoyed by the fact that he had to get dressed up.

“Of course I’m listening.” James said, chuckling lowly before lowering himself onto the bed next to Qrow and reaching out to begin doing up the buttons- though he only did this after he’d already gone ahead and opened up Qrow’s shirt slightly so that he could get a good view of the not-yet-healed marks on his skin.

“Jimmy.” Qrow whined. “Why do I even have to do the fancy Atlas thing?”

“Firstly, you _know_ how I feel about that name. And secondly, because you’re with me.” James answered, fastening the first button. “And it would be best for you to make a good impression.”

“You never made me go with you to this stuff before.” Qrow reached up and pushed James’ hand’s away as he began to do up his shirt the rest of the way. “So why do I have to go now?”

James shot Qrow a look, and for a moment, Qrow couldn’t help but to feel bad. He knew exactly why things had changed- the two of them deciding that they wanted to go public with their relationship had changed a lot, but still…

“Qrow, I just want to have you there.” James mumbled, quietly. “I know this is boring stuff, and I know you’re going to hate it since it's…”

“You’re going to network.”

“I don’t try to.” James answered. “It’s not my fault that people just think that because I’m out of uniform it’s a good time to get favors.”

“Please don’t make me socialize.” Qrow groaned, standing up and crossing the room so that he could get his jacket- it was the same one that he’d worn on his and James’ first proper date. The way that he climbed into the ‘monkey suit,’ as Qrow tended to term it, was somewhat awkward. It was the look of someone that wasn’t used to wearing any sort of formal wear.

James felt a pang of guilt. He knew that Qrow hated anything that even toed the line of being formal, and yet he couldn’t just go ahead and cancel. James was too important to Atlas, and if there was a member missing from the Atlas Council’s table, then it would be conspicuous.

“I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.” James said, quietly. He reached out and took Qrow’s hand in his, gently tugging Qrow in close to him by doing so. “I promise.”

“You better mean that.”

“I do.” James answered. “All you have to do is show up, look pretty, and enjoy dinner.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.” James leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to Qrow’s lips, though the touch was infinitely gentle. “That’s it.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

“I’ll pay you back for it.” James chuckled. “Promise.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

James wrapped his arms around Qrow and tugged him close, nuzzling into Qrow’s hair gently and letting his eyes slip shut. With a smile, James mumbled two words.

“I know.”


	20. Double Date - Bees Schnees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Courtesy of anipendragon: "We’re part of a trio of friends but we don’t want our friend to feel like the third wheel - Bees Schnees"
> 
> This is uh... Something. A thing that exists.

It was the night of the double date.

Or rather, it _would_ have been the night of the double date, Weiss thought to herself. She’d had a date picked out and everything, and it was now thirty seven minutes exactly before she had to meet Blake and Yang at the bar with her date.

_Who had cancelled on her._

This was really bad.

Weiss kept on staring at her phone, wanting desperately to pick it up and give Blake and Yang the call to tell them that she didn’t have a date, but at the same time, she couldn’t justify cancelling it.

Blake had been nervous- new partner and all of that, and she’d asked Weiss rather politely to make it a double date so that she wouldn’t feel as awkward if things didn’t work out.

To Weiss, she supposed that some part of that was weird, at least in theory. The one thing that made it really weird was the fact that Blake, Weiss, and Yang had known each other for a long time- since they were freshmen in university at the very least.

Weiss figured that Blake was just afraid that it’d end up ruining her relationship with Yang.

But Weiss, caring friend that she was, had agreed to the double date, and had even found someone convenient enough to come along with her that would be more than willing to spend a night with them.

That was, until he cancelled.

 _Damn Jaune_.

He’d been chasing after her for months, /months/ and now that he finally had his date with her, he’d cancelled.

There was part of Weiss that wondered why the sudden change in heart, but at the same time, she also figured that it was probably something that she didn’t want to know the answer to.

Her phone buzzed.

Her cab was going to be there any minute, by the looks of things.

Weiss sighed, and steeled herself for the night ahead, taking a second to fix her hair and adjust her dress on the way out the door.

She made it into town, and decided that the best way to spend her time before meeting the new happy couple would be with some light shopping- or rather window shopping. Her father wasn’t the best man, but he was a rich man.

And he’d cut her off.

Weiss definitely wasn’t bitter. It wasn’t like his money was the closest thing she could get to actual familial love from him.

She ended up in the bookstore that was on the far end of the mall, and was browsing the poetry section when she heard two familiar voices.

“-you heard anything from Weiss yet?”

“I think she said she was bringing Jaune?” A second voice said. The girls’ voice was lower, much more subdued than the other’s. Blake. “I talked to her yesterday-”

Weiss swallowed and slotted the book that she was looking at back onto the shelf before stepping out from behind it and into view.

Yang and Blake were standing side by side at a discount display. Yang didn’t seem particularly interested in the books, but Blake was turning over volumes like she was looking for some sort of hidden gem amongst the tomes.

Blake had a close friend who worked there, Weiss remembered. Tucker she thought his name was. Or maybe Tuscan. Or Dunstan.

Something like that.

“Hey.” Weiss said, just loud enough to catch Blake and Yang’s attention. “So I know I should have called, but-”

Yang blinked and looked on both sides of Weiss, which Weiss realized quickly was her looking for Jaune. Weiss almost chewed on her lower lip, but she forced back her nerves so that she wouldn’t end up looking bad.

“Where’s loverboy?” Yang asked, leaning back slightly and putting on a smile. “Couldn’t make it?”

“Uh, something like that.” Weiss answered, averting her eyes slightly. “I didn’t feel right cancelling so-”

“It’s alright.” Blake spoke up, catching both Weiss and Yang’s attention. She looked between Weiss and Yang, and even seemed to be trying to figure out whether or not there was some good way for her to dissolve the tension that had built up between the three of them. “Are… you still okay with joining us?”

“I mean, I am.” Weiss answered. “It might be a little bit awkward though.”

“I don’t think it’ll be awkward.” Yang said, smiling brightly and putting her hands behind her head for a moment and stretching. “We’ve been friends for years, I think we don’t have anything to worry about.”

Weiss opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn’t think of anything. There was a part of her that wondered whether or not Yang was taking some sort of personal stake in her presence on the former double date, but at the same time-

“Are you sure?” Weiss asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from Blake and Yang for a moment. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“I mean, if you start feeling like you’re a third wheel, just tell us.” Yang said with a shrug. “We’re all friends. Nobody gets left behind.”

“You mean it?”

“Scout’s honor.” Yang answered, raising her hand with a wide smile. Blake shook her head, looking a little bit exasperated with Yang’s behaviour, but Weiss got the feeling that it was an affectionate sort of exasperation.

“So, what about the date?” Blake asked. “Should we start with dinner?”

“Dinner sounds wonderful.” Weiss answered. “I’ll tell you guys about what’s happened.”

“That-” Yang said, grinning, “-sounds great.”

Blake looked between Yang and Weiss, then back over her shoulder. She picked up a book and smiled. “You two should figure out what dinner will be. I want to get this.”

“Of course.” Weiss said, nodding.

“Don’t take too long,” Yang called. “I don’t know _Xiao Long_ it’ll be before I start missing you.”

Blake blushed and shook her head again. Weiss gave Yang a look that silently said “you’re the absolute worst.” 

Yang just shot a smile in Weiss’ direction and wiggled her eyebrows. 

Weiss had to resist rolling her eyes so hard that her retinas detached. “So, dinner?” Weiss asked, hoping that it would be enough of a distraction that she wouldn’t have to hear another god-awful pun over the course of the night. “I was thinking we get noodles.” 

“I think A Simple Wok has a kiosk around here?” Yang replied, her brow furrowing as she thought. “Any reason? I figured it wouldn’t exactly be your taste.” 

“I know you two like it, so…” 

Weiss saw Blake step up to the front of the line, where she laughed and joked with the cashier. “I think they also have fish…” 

“Sounds good to me.” Yang answered. She stood in a relaxed pose and put her hands behind her head as they waited. Soon enough, Blake was approaching them with her book in her arms, and smiling. 

Blake stepped between the two of them and looked from Yang to Weiss. “Did… you two decide on dinner?” 

“We did.” Weiss spoke up. “Should we…” There it was again, the worry that she was ruining Blake and Yang’s first date by being there alone. 

“I could use a bite.” Yang said, smiling and taking the first few steps so that they could leave the bookstore as a group. “Besides, the movie’s not for a few hours.”

Weiss and Blake exchanged a look and followed Yang out of the store and through the shopping mall until the three of them were taking seats at the kiosk, side by side. Blake ended up in the middle, with Yang on her left and Weiss on her right. 

The three of them placed their orders, and then Yang decided to start a conversation. 

She leaned forward to catch Weiss’ eye. “So, what happened to make loverboy cancel?”

Weiss hesitated, not sure that she really wanted to answer that question. When Jaune had cancelled, she hadn’t exactly been given much of a warning about it. She’d been given even less of an explanation, but she had a feeling…

“I… don’t think I’m the person he’s looking for.” Weiss said, hesitant. The fact that she’d been stood up on a date by Jaune of people was only more than a little embarrassing. 

“Sounds like Nora got to him and talked some sense into him.” Yang commented. “Because-” 

“I don’t mind it!” Weiss exclaimed, cutting in. “Just embarrassed to have shown up for a double date alone.” 

There was a weird silence that passed over them. Then Blake spoke up. 

“For what it’s worth, I don’t mind that you’re here alone.” 

“What?” 

“Yeah, I think I like it better this way too.” Yang commented, setting down her bowl of noodles. “More of you for me.” 

“But..” Weiss’ eyes narrowed as she tried to parse out what was happening. “You two are on a date.” 

“I mean, you’re on a date too.” Yang retorted. “Jaune not showing doesn’t change that.” 

Weiss looked over at Blake, only to earn a slight shrug. She blinked once. Twice. Stared down at her hands as she tried to piece together what was being said to her. “You’re both okay with this?”

“I don’t want to ruin your fun.” Yang said. “And you know I’m flexible.” 

“Blake?”

“I… don’t think I mind.” 

That settled it then, didn’t it?

“So… this is a date?” 

“Yeah, why not.” Yang laughed. “Sounds fun to me. My dad will be so proud.” 

“ _Please_  tell me that’s not your only reason for wanting this.” Blake deadpanned. 

“It’s only part of the reason, promise.” Yang chuckled. “But seriously. It’s a date. All three of us.” 

Weiss nodded slowly, understanding. 

Apparently it was time to try something new.


	21. Dial Tone - Crime Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WELP THIS WAS PAINFUL.
> 
> The prompt came from anipendragon: Actually... I just miss you.

“Hey.”

The other end of the line had just gone to voicemail.

Again.

Junior had expected that.

It was early in the morning, and he couldn’t quite put his head together. The last few weeks had been like that. Ever since everything had happened in Vale, he hadn’t been able to get ahold of anyone, really. Junior had taken the twins as quickly as he could and gone with the evacuations when the Huntsmen finally came to his bar.

He hadn’t gotten to say goodbye.

He didn’t even know where Roman was anymore. He didn’t know whether he’d gone down on one of the airships that had crashed down over the city, or whether he was safe and sound in custody and unable to get in contact. Junior hadn’t heard anything from Neo either.

And yet he was up, sitting outside in the sweltering heat with his scroll resting against his knee hoping that he’d be able to make some sort of contact and reconnect things.

But he was only met with voicemail. With Roman’s cheerful voice asking him to leave a message if he promised not to report him to the authorities.

Classic Roman.

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to think about what that could mean. He tried not to think about the fact that he had two girls inside asleep and that he couldn’t wake them.

So he just kept talking. It wasn’t the same- he knew that it never would be. But at the same time, it was something.

“I um…” God, this was stupid. “I just wanted to know how you are. I haven’t seen you in…” Junior hesitated on the words and stared out at the desert ahead of him. He knew that in the morning the sun would rise over it and it would light the world in reds and oranges, and even a soft pink or two.

Roman would have liked it.

“…in a while.” Junior closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “I just… I wanted to let you know that we’re safe. The twins and I. We ran away to Vacuo, we figured that we wouldn’t have to worry about the Grimm.” Junior bit his lower lip, realizing that nothing he was saying was coming off quite right. 

Nothing was actually saying what he wanted to say. What he _needed_  to say. 

“Actually… Ro, that’s not it. I just missed you and I just…” A shaky inhale. “I wanted to let you know that I miss you, and I love you, and we’ll be able to be together soon and when that happens it’ll be great.”

He was running out of time. Junior knew it. 

“Just… call me when you can, okay? I know you’ll get out here. I’ll wait for you. Just… let me know. I’m here.” 

Five seconds left, maybe. 

“I love yo-”

_Beeeeep._

_Message recieved._

Junior inhaled deeply and covered his face with one large hand as he tried to calm himself down. He’d hear from Roman someday. He definitely wasn’t just in denial. 


	22. Lunch Meeting - Ironwick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anipendragon inquired: “Please tell me that you didn’t get on the subway like that.” - Ironwick
> 
> Uh. This exists?

James stood in the train station with one hand buried down in his pocket while he checked his watch on the other.

He’d been waiting for a few minutes for a new business associate. James didn’t know much about the guy because it was an arrangement that had been done mostly over email. James had needed someone willing to design some things for him, and he’d found someone with a good resume.

He’d thought that arranging a proper meeting wouldn’t be such a big deal. He’d figured that this guy- Roman Torchwick, was his name, apparently, would be able to show up and have something done.

But instead, he was waiting at the train station for this guy to get off of his subway so that the two of them could get their lunch and talk business.

He was a patient man. He could wait on Roman Torchwick if it mean that he’d get to get some of his work off of his shoulders.

However, his eye was drawn _very_ easily to the sight of a thin man with flippy red hair coming out from the underground with paint, or ink, or something similar splattering his clothes- white jacket included.

James tried not to silently mourn for it.

He also tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach that arrived at the realization that this man splattered in fresh coloring was probably the man that he was waiting for.

The redhead looked around, and that was when James realized that it was almost certain that yes, this was in fact Roman Torchwick.

He took the first step forward in the ginger’s direction before raising his voice just enough to come off as commanding, or at the very least, noticeable. “Roman Torchwick?”

“Yes?!” Roman asked, picking his head up and locking his eyes onto James. “You’re James?” 

“I am.” James answered. He stepped forward to offer his hand for a handshake but couldn’t help but to hesitate when he realized that Roman’s hands were splattered with ink or paint. 

Roman reached out and took James’ hand for the handshake. James almost pulled away before the contact could be made and his pristine white glove that he wore on his right hand could be ruined.

“Roman Torchwick, good to meet you.” 

“The feeling is mutual.” James answered as he pulled away from Roman. He looked down at the glove, to see that it was now stained with red paint. He couldn’t help but to shake his head. “So, should we get lunch or…” James paused and let his eyes flick up and down Roman’s body. 

The guy would have been really attractive if not for the fact that he had shown up looking like a complete mess.

“Or…?” 

James sighed. “I have to ask.” 

“About?”

“Please tell me that you didn’t get on the subway like that.” 

Roman’s green eyes- emeraldlike, James noted, widened in some surprise at the comment. He looked down at himself and then frowned, letting out a heavhy sigh. “I got a little bit caught up in my work, I’ve gotta apologize.”

James let out a heavy sigh. “I figure this probably isn’t going to work out.” He looked around the station and tried to think about when would be the best time to reschedule. He couldn’t do a business meeting with anyone that was covered in paint. 

Regardless of whether they were attractive or not. 

Roman hummed quietly, and looked James up and down. “How about… you and I reschedule. Meet some other time, get a drink or two?” 

James was taken aback. Was Roman asking him on a date? 

“I get the feeling this may not be appropriate.” 

“I can multitask.” Roman grinned into the words. “Work now. Fun later.” 

James swallowed. 

“How about this-” he began, giving an offer of his own. “You and I will meet in a day or two. Same time, same place, and we’ll talk work. And after this all, then maybe-” 

“I can take a maybe.” Roman chuckled. 

“Then maybe we’ll have dinner for fun.” 

“It’s a date, handsome.” 

James frowned. He wondered what he’d just accidentally talked himself into. But deep down, he wasn’t so sure that he really minded. 


	23. Runaways - Emercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albino-atilla sent me this prompt and I really liked it. A lot. 
> 
> "If you want, we could go together" + Emercury.

Emerald hadn’t expected any of this. She hadn’t expected for them to end up in some sort of nightmare realm where monsters made from fear were able climb up from pools of viscera to wander Remnant.

When she’d signed on to help Cinder, it hadn’t been a happy arrangement. It had been her taking the role out of fear of being reported to the police or starving. Her hands had been tied.

But things were changing. She was complicit in the death of a child, no, _android,_ Emerald reminded herself. She’d aided in a girl’s fall from grace, and then she’d ended up aiding in the destruction of a kingdom. She’d seen a woman turned into a half-monster through means that she didn’t quite understand and nobody was willing to explain.

She’d never wanted this. She’d never wanted so much blood on her hands.

So now she was in the tiny room that she and Mercury had been given to stay in for as long as they were there. Salem hadn’t bothered to cast them out. Emerald liked the room mostly because it put a buffer between her and the monsters that roamed these halls- grimm and man alike.

Emerald bent over the bed that had been called hers, though it tended to be shared between her and Mercury because at least they could feel somewhat safe that way. Her things were all laid out- what little she had, at least.

Mentally, she ran through everything that she needed. Clothes, weapon, blanket.

That was everything she had. That was all that she had.

She didn’t know how far she’d be able to get away on her own. Emerald figured that running probably meant that she would end up dead- somehow she doubted that Salem would take mercy on her.

The door behind her creaked open and Emerald jumped visibly. She went for the immediate reaction- activate her semblance to hide her packing from whoever had interrupted.

“Em, stoppit.” Mercury groaned as he closed the door behind him. “It’s just me.” 

Emerald turned and angled herself so that everything couldn’t be seen. “What do you want?”

“What is your-” Mercury paused, his expression falling. “Emerald?” 

_Shit, he knew._

“Please.” She began her plea. “Please don’t tell anyone-” 

“I’m not-” Mercury paused and exhaled slowly. “What’s going on.” 

“I can’t do this anymore.” Emerald answered. “I was going to just try and…” She looked out the window to the crystalline wasteland below, crawling with Grimm.

Mercury looked like he was absolutely stunned- Emerald figured that she probably couldn’t exactly blame him for it. It wasn’t every day that someone essentially admitted that they were about to march to their death. He stepped in close to her, and reached out. 

Emerald raised her hands for fear of being struck, only for Mercury to wrap himself up around her instead. She stood there, stuff, and felt the way that he buried his nose into her hair. 

Neither of them spoke. Emerald wanted to disappear into the comfort, but the fact remained that she had to run. 

“Mercury…” 

“If you want to, we can go together.” Mercury said, every word punctuated and biting. “I don’t want to be here alone, and I don’t want…” He pulled away slightly, and together they both turned to face the window. 

“Merc-” 

“I don’t want either of us going through anything alone. Not anymore.” 

“What are you saying?” 

“That I want to be with my partner in crime.” Mercury finally met her eyes. “I want to go with you.” 

Emerald swallowed visibly and looked over at the small pile of her things that rested on the bed. Maybe he was right- maybe it was better not to go it alone. 

“Okay.” She finally whispered. “Come with me.” 


	24. Interrogation - Ironwick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman's gotten picked up as a suspect for a robbery. James isn't amused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I may be a villain, but I do have standards" was prompted by an anonymous user.

Roman leaned back into his seat a little bit too far, tilting it back onto its back legs. If he went too far, he was sure that he was going to fall.

But as he was in an interrogation room and handcuffed to aforementioned steel chair, he had to do what he could to keep himself entertained. Besides, he’d been left in there alone for what was close to half an hour or so now.

Mostly, he suspected that the guy meant to be interrogating him was on a lunch break.

Which was dumb, because why would _anyone_  want to spend time away from someone like him?

The nerve of some people.

He tilted back in his seat again and tried not to think about the vast multitude of things that were nagging at his head and making it hard for him to concentrate on much of anything that wasn’t just the fact that he was bored and could use a smoke.

The sound of the door slamming open at the back of the room jolted Roman out of what he was doing. He looked back over his shoulder to see that there was a man dressed in all white with a mug of coffee that he held in his gloved right hand.

He knew this guy.

Apparently his reputation was proceeding him in this case if they went to the top of their command chain to pick someone out to interrogate him.

Roman shifted in his seat, a little bit uncomfortably and tried to make eye contact with the man.

“You must be Mr. Torchwick.” The man said as he seated himself in a steel chair across from Roman. “An honor to have you here truly.”

“And you’re General Ironwood.” Roman answered as he decided to stop leaning back in his seat. It hit the floor loudly, and soon Roman was leaning across the table to see whether or not he could get a read on the man. “You know, it’s not polite to leave a girl waiting.”

“On the contrary.” James answered gruffly as he folded one leg over the other. “You’re not a girl, and I had a rather extensive file to look over before I came to see you.”

“You sure you weren’t just busy?” Roman teased, letting a grin cross his entire face as he leaned in further. “Because I imagine a guy like you has a real nice secreta-”

“That’s enough.” James cut him off and set the mug of coffee down at his right side. “You know why you’re here.”

“On the contrary, General.” Roman responded. “Your boys picked me up on the side of the road and started screaming something about a robbery-”

James’ eyes narrowed and he leaned in across the table, almost dangerous looking. “I’d recommend you don’t go playing dumb, Roman.” He relaxed back slightly after a moment, making himself a little bit more comfortable again. “There have been four robberies in the area lately, all home invasions.”

“And?”

“And having reports of a notorious criminal such as yourself within our borders will always raise eyebrows.” James responded. “Either you’d be the culprit-”

“Which I’m not.”

“-Or you’ll have information to get us to them.” James finished finally before taking a sip from his coffee mug. “You tend to have your fingers in a lot of places, so it felt like it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

“Well I hate to disappoint, General.” Roman answered as he once again began to tip back in his seat. “Home robberies aren’t really my thing.”

James set his mug of coffee down and leaned back into his seat, even draping an arm over the back slightly as he tried to make himself a bit more comfortable. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“I may be a villain, but even i have standards.” Roman responded as he gestured to nothing nonchalantly. “It’s not my regular crowd. You’d have better luck with the pawn shops than with me.”

James sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, like he was mulling over his options. “Then you and I should have a brief talk.” He began. “You say this isn’t your crowd, but I don’t trust you for a second.”

“Well we could always engage in a few trust building exercises.” Roman laughed. “I’m telling you the truth, General. My hands are clean.”

“You mentioned pawn shops.” James deadpanned, staring at Roman the entire time with what could only be described as a thoroughly unamused expression. “How about this, I’m willing to cut you a deal.”

Roman hummed quietly. “And what do I get if I agree?”

“We’ll put it on your record.” James said after a sip of coffee. “Perhaps we’ll count it as good behavior and you’ll have a little bit less to worry about later down the line. But I need for you to agree-”

“I can do that-”

“And actually work with me.”

Roman groaned and leaned back in his seat. “You’re asking me to be a snitch, aren’t you.”

“I’m asking you to give us some names for people we should talk to.” James replied calmly. “Help me now, and I’ll help you later.”

Roman hummed and let his eyes flick over James’ face for a moment. They’d had a lot of meetings like this one in the past, and they were always interesting. He took a moment to weigh his options, thinking over what he would like in return for his help.

“How about this, General.” He began, “I help you, and you give me help with that good behavior stuff in the future.” Roman smirked. “But I want a little more instant gratification.”

James’ expression changed, going deathly serious. “And what do you mean by that.”

“I give you help, you give me-” Roman glanced around the room. Completely empty aside from him, James, and furniture. “-a date.”

“Roman-”

“C’mon, General.” Roman purred, leaning in. “You and I always meet like this and it’s always the same thing. I know you’re interested.”

“It would be inappropriate.”

“And what would make it appropriate?”

James rolled his eyes and stood up, taking his mug of coffee with him. “How about this, Torchwick. You go three years without a spot on your criminal record, and I’ll consider a date with you.”

“I’m taking that as a yes.”

James gave him what only could be described as a death stare. “You give me the names, and if you can prove yourself, I’ll give you your date.”

Roman smirked. He was pretty sure that he’f worn on James’ frustrations enough at that point that he wasn’t going to be getting any more out of him. “We’ll call it a date then, Jimmy.”

“James.”

“Right.” Roman purred again. “Unless you prefer Sir-”

“I’ll speak to you later, Roman.”

James left Roman alone, and was followed by a lackey coming into the room with a notepad. Roman frowned.

He guessed that he probably should have expected that at some point.


	25. Laundry Day - Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James isn't a fan of chores when he's tired. Or of finding Qrow in his home when he's been away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Is that blood" was prompted by FandomLastsForever. 
> 
> Hope you like it!

There was a saying that Atlesians knew about three hundred different words for snow. **  
**

That wasn’t correct, nor had it ever been.

However, James was sure that he knew about three hundred different words for exhaustion.

He approached the door to his apartment, rubbing his weary eyes before he held his hand to the card reader at the side of the door. He was lucky to have gotten a chip installed in his palm that read similarly to his scroll and was able to get him access without much effort.

There was a quiet beep that told James that the door was open and he stepped inside to immediately realize that there was something wrong. He reached for his gun at his side as he eased the door shut behind him. He was deeply worried that there was an invader looking for anything that could be used against him.

Or the kingdom, for that matter.

“Jimmy?!” A voice called from the back of the apartment, and James swore silently when he realized that he knew the voice. He knew only one man to have a voice that naturally husky and slurred.

If James were to guess correctly, he was sure that he was going to be able to go back to his bedroom and he’d find that Qrow Branwen was there in his bed for whatever reason. It wasn’t as though that sort of thing was anything new, especially considering that Qrow didn’t always have the best idea of boundaries.

The fact that the two of them had been sleeping together on and off for the last six years or so also tended to complicate things a bit.

“Qrow?” James called back as he re-holstered his gun and began the walk back to his bedroom. He was aching and tired, and positively ready to drop, but it seemed that he desperately needed to deal with Qrow before he was going to be able to take care of his own problems.

“In the bedroom!” Qrow called back.

James made his way to the door to his bedroom and looked in to see that Qrow was lying in his bed, wearing a set of clothes that had obviously been taken from the hamper of clean clothing that James had spent all morning folding. A quick glance over told James that all of his work on that front had been completely undone.

That meant that Qrow’s actual clothes were somewhere. Not necessarily in the apartment, but somewhere.

“What are you doing here?” James asked, giving Qrow a quick look up and down.

“Where’s your laundry stuff.” Qrow asked instead of answering James’ question. “Because I have some stuff-”

“Qrow.” James cut him off. “What are you doing here?”

Qrow groaned loudly. “I just needed a good place to sleep for a bit.” Qrow answered. “And I figured I could get some stuff cleaned up while I was here.”

“Well.” James said as he took his seat at the edge of the bed. “I could show you wehre the washing machine is, but-”

“But?”

“You need to stop doing this thing.”

“What thing?” Qrow asked with a shrug. “We spend plenty of time together off the job, and you don’t mind me being here.”

“I don’t like the part where you broke into my apartment.” James answered with a deadpanned, he looked around the room again, in search of Qrow’s things but only finding that Qrow had laid his sword against the wall. “Now, get up and get your clothes.”

“So I do get to use your washing machine?” Qrow laughed as he rolled out of bed so that he could get his things. James noticed that Qrow was moving too stiffly, but tried not to mention it. He figured it was just because Qrow had spent all day hunting or something. The guy was probably just tired.

“Yeah, you do.” James answered. He let himself lean against the doorframe to his bedroom and watched as Qrow picked up a bundle of clothes that had been left in a corner of the room where it couldn’t get noticed easily. “Now, c’mon.”

Qrow nodded and padded after James until the two of them were heading to a tiny room in the back of the apartment that tended to go mostly unnoticed. James opened the washing machine and reached for the bundle of clothes that Qrow had on him.

He wasn’t handed the clothing though. Instead it was dropped into his washing machine quite nonchalantly and James froze and raised a hand to block Qrow from turning any of the dials. James stared down at the grey of Qrow’s shirt, to see there there was a rusty red stain there.

James picked the shirt up carefully and turned it. At his side, Qrow shifted about almost nervously. “Qrow,” James asked the question slowly. “Is this blood?”

“Uh…” Qrow began. “Yeah. Yeah it is.” He stepped up into James’ line of sight and pulled up on the bottom of the sweater that he’d borrowed to show that he had wrapped his stomach with some bandages haphazardly and there was some blood showing through. “Just a scratch. Nasty run in with some griffons when I was flying back in.”

That wasn’t good, was the first thing that James thought. Normally he wouldn’t think that Qrow would have done much of anything to try and clean things up and try to make things seem better, but the fact that he’d clearly done some sort of attempt at treatment was something.

James just sighed and dropped the shirt back down into the washing machine before starting it and turning to face Qrow. “You’ve wrapped it.”

“Even disinfected.” Qrow said proudly. “Figured I might as well take advantage of that fancy first aid kit of yours.” He stepped in close and reached out, wrapping his arms around James and pulling the man in close. James sighed quietly when Qrow rested his head against his shoulder.

“Did you put my first aid kit away?”

“Might still be out in the bathroom.” Qrow chuckled. “Figured I’d get it in the morning.”

James nodded and just took the first step back so that he could steer Qrow into the bedroom so that they would have a little bit less to worry about. “Well,” James said quietly. “I was going to take a shower before bed, but it seems like I have some more chores to deal with before I can do that.”

“You could come to bed, Jim.”

“Or I could get cleaned up and then come to bed.” James replied. “But you need to rest first.”

“Anything else, Jim?”

“Stop breaking into my apartment.”

Qrow rolled his eyes and seated himself on the bed when he felt his thighs bump against it. James forced him to lie back and tossed a blanket over Qrow gently before slipping out of the bedroom so that he could finish out his routine for the night. It wasn’t ideal, but it had to be done.

When James finally came back, clean and more content, he just climbed into bed beside a slumbering Qrow and did his best to sleep off his worries for his lover’s injury. It had been treated, and Qrow was home safe. That was what mattered.

They could deal with everything else in the morning. Starting with changing the locks on James’ apartment.


	26. Rodents - Salem/Ozpin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ozpin doesn't like his work getting stolen. Salem doesn't mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An anonymous user prompted me with "what happened to the mouse?" and Grandmasters.

"I think that you and I have a rodent problem to discuss.” Ozpin stepped into her office, dressed in a dark green suit that made him look entirely too good and something akin to fire in his eyes, hidden as they were behind tiny glasses.    
  
Salem gave her visitor a look and raised an eyebrow, leaning back in her seat as she pleased and crossing one leg over the other as she made herself comfortable. “What are you ever talking about?”    
  
Ozpin growled and grabbed a seat, putting it up next to her desk. They both pretended that Ozpin couldn’t see the way that Salem’s skirt rode up on her legs under the glass desk. Salem didn’t mind, she liked this little part of the game that they tended to play.    
  
“What I’m talking about-”   
  
“Ozpin, if you’ve seriously come to me to ask me for my favorite exterminator, then I think I’ll have to remind dear Cinder not to schedule meetings with you.” Salem said quietly. “If you have mice in your building, that’s frankly unsanitary.”    
  
“I’m not talking about mice.” Ozpin answered as a heavy briefcase was set down on the desk between them. He turned it so that it faced Salem, and she was just left staring at it for a moment. “What is this?”    
  
“That,” Ozpin began to explain. “Would be a briefcase full of highly confidential documents regarding a product which my company was planning to release in the upcoming months.” Ozpin’s eyes narrowed. “An item which you announced today in press conference before millions.”    
  
Salem leaned back in her seat. “I have no idea what you could be talking about.”    
  
“How did they get to you?” Ozpin asked, taking a seat finally. “The designs. Someone doesn’t just announce an identical product when another is being worked on under wraps.”    
  
Salem hummed quietly, trying to find an answer and playing along like she didn’t know anything about it. “It was brought to me by Arthur Watts, one of my closest associates.” She paused. “I suppose you are familiar?”    
  
“I am not.” Ozpin answered. “Though-”   
  
A devilish smile crossed Salem’s face and she leaned in slightly. “Do tell me, you said you had a mouse problem?”    
  
“I-”    
  
“Ozpin, it wouldn’t do not to have such a problem be dealt with.” She shook her head, mocking. “If you have a mouse to take care of, then that is of your concern.” Salem leaned back in her seat. “I know nothing about this.”    
  
Ozpin paused, seemingly trying to mull over her words in search of anything that would be enough to start resolving this conversation in a manner that would be favorable to him. Of course, Salem wasn’t going to let that happen. She had her own interests to worry about.    
“So,” Ozpin began. “If you were to deal with a mouse, what would you do?”   
  
“Personally?” Salem smiled again, widely. “I would get a cat.” A pause. “Although, I suppose yours might be a bit... ineffective.”    
  
“And a rat?”   
  
“A cat, again.” Salem leaned back in her seat. “I don’t see what the big concern is.”    
  
Ozpin leaned in now, so close that his breaths seemed to ghost over Salem’s lips, reminding her of years long ago, before their partnership had ended and they had gone their separate ways. Back before all of this. Salem was sure that if she needed, she could have turned the tides and seduced Ozpin back to her in a heartbeat. “You know.”    
  
Salem rolled her eyes dramatically before staring straight into Ozpin’s eyes with everything that she could muster. “I don’t know anything about your little mouse, Ozpin.” She said quietly, turning her seat away from him finally. “I do recommend getting a better cat though. I hear a Mister Belladonna is for hire.”    
  
“Salem-”   
  
She looked back at him over her shoulder. “Do let me know what happens with your mouse.” She paused. “I would love to hear about it, when the time comes.”    
  
Ozpin sighed, almost dramatically and rose to his feet. “Very well.” He answered. “I’ll let you know what happens to this so-called mouse.” Slowly, he took a few steps towards the door and paused, just at its threshold.    
  
“What happened to us?”   
  
Salem stared at the wall, with its accolades and signs of her masterful leading of a company and thought hard before giving an answer.    
  
“Only business, Ozpin.” She whispered. “I’ll have Cinder see you out.”    
  
“I know the way.” Ozpin answered, finally taking his leave as silently as he had come in, leaving that briefcase behind on Salem’s desk. She didn’t open it. She didn’t need to.    
  
Her mole had done exactly what she’d needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take new prompts and questions there!](http://tyrian-callows.tumblr.com/)


	27. Burnt Eggs - Ironwick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James just wants to get his things from an Ex's apartment. He's not ready for Roman Torchwick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt came from ofthieveryandaddictions on tumblr and it was: I’m your ex’s new roommate and you were only coming by to pick up your stuff and you walked in on me dancing around in my underwear - Ironwick
> 
> This was a fun one to write! I hope you enjoy it!

“Qrow!” James nearly shouted into the apartment, hoping that he was going to be able to get his things back after what had been nearly three weeks of him and Qrow being apart. Of course, things were awkward, since breakups always tended to be an ordeal of sorts. For James, they tended to be a bit harder than they were for most.

There wasn't any answer. James grimaced and pocketed his copy of the key to the apartment- he was going to be sure to leave that behind on the way out with a note, maybe.

He took the first few steps into the apartment, closing the door behind him and steeling himself to face some things that he hadn't wanted to deal with for a while, but as things stood, Qrow had some of his clothes and James wanted them back.

However, on his third step inside, James realized that there was something distinctly _off_ about the whole thing. Like he wasn't alone.

Normally, this would have set James on high alert, but there was something about the situation that felt harmless, assuming that he wasn't alone. Or maybe that was just familiarity with the space talking.

"Qrow?" James called again.

Again, no answer.

He shrugged and began to make his way through the apartment, shouldering an empty duffel bag on his way. James was halfway through the doorway to the kitchen when he was slammed by the scent of something /burning./ Eggs maybe? Yeah, that had to be it. Couldn't be Qrow though, the guy couldn't cook but he had figured out how to make scrambled eggs in a microwave. Qrow would never even attempt to cook on stovetop.

What James was presented with was something that was enough to make him almost immediately flush.

There was a man, with bright red hair that looked like it had been coiffed into perfection the night before, but had since fallen into an almost floppy style, dancing and lip syncing- poorly, James would add, into a spatula. The only thing covering this man aside from the occasional hickey (James didn't want to think about where those could have come from, since he had a feeling) was a pair of black and orange striped boxer-briefs and a pair of headphones that was playing music a little more than too loudly.

The man turned around, opened his eyes halfway through a faked high-note and seemed to go completely red all at once. He dropped the arm with the spatula down to his side and slid the headphones down off of his head before pausing the music so that it wouldn't be a problem.

James and the man stared at each other for a while before James finally managed to speak up. "Your eggs-"

The man blinked twice and turned, only to frown when he saw that they were burnt before just moving the skillet that the'd been cooking on off of the burner and looking back at James. "So uh," He seemed to smile a little too dangerously, to the point where it left James unsure of what he was dealing with. "What are you doing in my apartment?"

"Picking up some things." James answered. "I take it you're Qrow's new roommate?"

The man turned back around and nodded. James could feel his eyes roaming over his body, but said nothing, just stood there awkwardly as he readjusted the bag that he had over his shoulder. "That... would be me, yes." The thin man took a step forward and thrust his hand out for a handshake, which James begrudgingly accepted. "Roman Torchwick, at your _service_." The man's grin widened into a cheshire smile. "And who might you be, handsome?"

"James." Was the only response he could be. "I'm Qrow's ex, here to pick up-"

Roman clicked his tongue, and James was almost put off by it. "Well," Roman's eyes flicked low on James' body and then up to his eyes. "Let it never be said that Qrow has bad taste." James tore his eyes away from Roman, knowing that he was flushing badly and that there was no way to hide it.

"Right." James swallowed hard and forced a smile. "I'm just here to pick up my things."

"Well," Roman looked at the door that they both knew led to Qrow's room, and then back to James. "He's supposed to be out all day, so there's no rush." He looked back over his shoulder and at the pan of burned eggs. "I figure I should make this up to you?"

James looked at the skillet and grimaced, seriously doubting that Roman was going to be able to make edible eggs. "How about this," James spoke up finally. "You help me get some things down to my car later, and I'll make you eggs properly."

Roman smiled widely. "I thought you would never ask, handsome."

James knew that he flushed a little darker at that, but said nothing. Just slid in towards the stovetop and did his best to ignore the brush of Roman's hip against his left by accident. He picked up the skillet and looked into it before letting his eyes travel back over to Roman.

The guy _was_ attractive, that was for sure. There was a part of James that wanted to see whether he was as flexible as he looked- no, James told himself. That wasn't appropriate to think about when you were showing up to pick up your things at your Ex's apartment.

So he just half-coughed awkwardly to catch Roman's attention. "Could you at least put on some pants?"

Roman blinked twice and nodded. "Sure thing, gorgeous." With those words, Roman slipped out of the kitchen and left James alone to figure out what he had just walked into.


	28. Anger  - Watts/Hazel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazel is Tired. Arthur is an annoyance. What else is new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: "I don't want to go to bed angry" WattsHazel
> 
> Hope you liked it, Anon!

It had been one of the most frustrating days that he’d had in a long time. Now, that wasn’t to say that every day there in the fortress at the end of the world didn’t end up being frustrating in its own way, but today Hazel’s blood was boiling with a sort of anger that absolutely refused to let up on him.   
  
Needless to say, it wasn’t a great feeling. 

So now he was getting ready to go to bed in the room that he, Arthur, and Tyrian would normally share, if only because Salem had declared sometime about a decade before that sharing quarters could improve their teamwork and morale. It hadn’t done much to help, but the three of them had worked out a dynamic.   
  
But tonight that dynamic had been broken. Tyrian was off curled up in a hole somewhere in the castle, and it had all been because a training session hadn’t gone exactly as originally planned. That left Hazel, angry because it had been his strike that had cracked the boy’s ribs, and Arthur, as snarky and cruel as he usually tended to be.   
  
Putting the two of them together like this was a bad deal for anyone.   
  
“This is only a small failure-” Arthur said proudly, his eyes focused on his scroll where he was probably reading something that he wasn’t supposed to. Hazel could guess that since the fall of Beacon’s CCT Arthur had lost some of his favorite reading materials- Atlesian specialist reports. “He’ll be back in a fortnight.”  
  
“Please be quiet.” Hazel grumbled, putting his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling above him.   
  
“You know he deserved it.”   
  
“I was just trying to break his aura.” Hazel grumbled. This was something that had never quite sit right with him- too many years as a huntsman left him with some habits that were hard to break. “Not break his ribs.”   
  
“Well-” Arthur announced proudly again. “I think that you’ve probably taught him a lesson.” The man closed his scroll and sat up properly before turning and facing Hazel with his legs hanging off of the bed. “Why are you so upset?”    
“Doesn’t matter.” Hazel rumbled. They both knew fully well- the fact that he was able to stay in this room that night instead of Tyrian was a testament to position, if nothing else. “Shouldn’t have done it.”  
  
“He shouldn’t have let his aura break so easily-”  
  
That was it. Hazel turned to face Arthur now, sitting up halfway on his bed and twisting to glare at the man. “Arthur, I am two seconds away from breaking your spine.” The words slipped out of him as an almost violent sounding growl. “Do not-”  
  
“Well, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble with it.” Arthur’s eyes snapped up towards him, and Hazel knew that he was smiling behind that mustache of his. “After all-”  
  
“Arthur!” For the first time in a very long time, Hazel raised his voice to one of his teammates. “I don’t want to go to bed angry.”  
   
Arthur hummed quietly. “Hazel, you’re always angry and both of us know that.”  
  
Hazel groaned, knowing fully well that Arthur was right about that. He balled his hands into fists at his sides and squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring that feeling that he needed to punch something. He couldn’t think of anything to say.  
  
Arthur rolled his eyes and got up, crossing the room and taking a seat next to Hazel on the bed. “You know that he’ll be fine.” He said quietly. “She’ll forgive him after a day or two, his aura will stitch him back together, and things will be back to normal.”   
  
“That’s not-”  
  
“The point?” Arthur leaned in slightly. “Oh, I know, Hazel. But that’s the fact of the matter. He’ll be fine in a few days. You can’t control your strength, after all.”   
  
“That doesn’t make me any less angry.”  
  
“Nothing will,” Arthur muttered, almost sounding like there was a sneer in his voice that refused to show on his face. “I know you, Hazel.”  
  
Hazel pushed himself up to his feet, putting his hands behind his head and walking forward towards the gigantic window that made up one wall of their room. “I know.”  
  
Arthur rolled his eyes and laid down on Hazel’s bed, making himself more comfortable. “You know-” Arthur grinned through the words. “It would be for the best if you get some rest.”  
  
Deep down, Hazel knew that Arthur was right. He turned back to face the other man and rolled his eyes because clearly he was going to have to fight if he wanted his bed back. “Move.”  
  
“Hmm.” Arthur looked down at his scroll again. “I’d really rather not. Why didn’t you tell me that your bed is more comfortable.”   
  
“Get out of my bed.”   
  
“Hazel, I’d really rather not.”    
  
The frown that crossed Hazel’s face at that wasn’t one that coul be easily mistaken. “Move or I will move you.”   
  
“I’d like to see you try.”  
  
Hazel rolled his eyes. He just walked towards his bed and unceremoniously dropped into it, ignoring where Arthur was laying and letting himself sprawl his weight out so that the other man couldn’t move.   
  
“Hazel?” Arthur said, trying to beat on Hazel’s back. “Hazel, mo-”  
  
“You chose this.” Hazel growled, making it clear that this was a punishment of sorts. “Now be quiet and let me sleep, unless you want to plea for mercy.”    
  
Arthur wouldn’t. They both knew he wouldn’t.   
   
They’d done this enough times that it rarely mattered at this point.   
  
Neither of them would admit to enjoying it.


	29. Bread - Grandmasters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ozpin has too much bread.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anon asked: Grandmasters and "Hey two of my friends were selling bread and I wanted to buy one from each of them but there was miscommunication and now I have three loaves reserved and they won't fit in my locker and I can't eat them all for lunch do you want some?"
> 
> Yeah, I don't know. Hope you liked it?

“This is a joke, right?”

Ozpin frowned, since they knew that they probably should have expected that sort of reaction out of Salem,  especially given the absurdity of the situation. Of course, _they_  hadn’t wanted to get involved in James and Qrow’s weird bread-related pissing contest, but in the end they hadn’t had much of a choice in the matter. 

“Unfortunately, it’s not.” Ozpin frowned, setting the three loaves of bread down on the table between the two of them. “I really could use help getting rid of the bread, though.” 

Salem rolled her eyes, crossing one leg over the other and resting her elbows on the table before leaning forward, her fingers laced together in front of her face and stared across at Ozpin. “And if I were to accept, what would it be in it for me?”

Ozpin paused, knowing that there really wasn’t any possible way to answer that question. This was _Salem-_ she didn’t do anything unless there was something to gain for herself. “There’s… not really anything in it, I guess.” Ozpin said, frowning. “Just that you’d be doing me a favor.” 

She shook her head, and she was clearly about to raise a hand to signal her refusal when Ozpin reached out to stop her, placing one hand on top of hers. “Salem,” they whispered her name, almost like a prayer. “Please.”

“I don’t need bread-”

‘I know.” Ozpin snapped back. “But I need help and I’ve unfortunately run out of options.” They cursed silently, not wanting to go much further than where they already were in the situation. “I’ll owe you for it, anything you think you want.” They paused. “Just please help me with this now, I can’t store all of this bread and to throw it all away.” 

Salem sighed a too heavy sigh before reaching out and taking one of the three loaves and pulling it back towards her. “We’ll be in touch.” 

Ozpin nodded slowly, trying to ignore the way that she looked so beautiful as she pulled away, turning and leaving them behind in the cafeteria with two loves of bread in front of them. 

Ozpin wished that they knew what they’d just signed on to do in the future.


	30. Connection Strength  - Taiqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've been together now. They just don't have time to enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anon asked: "Tell me this is a dream" TaiQrow
> 
> Hope you liked it!

Taiyang laid in bed beside Qrow, watching his former teammate as he laid there and relaxed in post-coital bliss. 

It had been a long day and an even longer evening. They were both upset, frustrated. Too many things had been dragged up over the course of the last week that neither of them had wanted to address, much less actually confront. 

So clearly, there was no healthier solution than for the two of them to jump into bed together and just ignore the fact that they were both frustrated with the memories of a life before everything had gone wrong and they’d lost half of their family, their _team._

Qrow was looking purely exhausted, like all of the energy had been drained out of him all at once. Taiyang felt a little bit guilty for that, since he’d definitely put the guy through the paces over the course of that evening. He was staring up at the ceiling. 

Probably feeling some regrets, if Taiyang had to guess. 

“Is this a dream?” Qrow mumbled, his rusty colored eyes glued on a spot on the ceiling above them. 

“I..” Taiyang swallowed. “No.” He shifted slightly, lying down next to his friend and trying to make himself comfortable. “It’s not.” 

Qrow grunted, and the sound alone was enough to leave Taiyang wondering whether he’d just screwed up so badly. The thinner man turned though, trying to face Taiyang properly before asking a question, his voice husky and heavy. “You regret it?”

“Nah,” Taiyang whispered. “Kind of feels like it was a long time coming.” 

“Yeah,” Qrow agreed, shrugging slightly. “It was fun, Tai.” 

Somehow that wasn’t enough to help Taiyang feel better about the whole thing. It was like there was something that he either wasn’t being told, or that he was overlooking- the more likely case. 

“What’re you thinking about?” Taiyang asked as he watched Qrow push himself upright, rolling slightly in the bed so that he could get at his flask. It left Taiyang feeling a bit bitter, if only because he was used to Qrow drinking when something had him upset. 

Qrow paused, about to unscrew the cap before shrugging. “I uh-” Another shrug. “Just trying to enjoy this while I can.” 

“Qrow?” Taiyang reached out, placing a hand on his friend’s. “What-”

“Look, I‘ve just..” Qrow shrugged. “I’ve been wanting this for a while.” 

“Qrow-”

“Look, Tai, I get it.” Qrow finally uncapped his flask. “This is probably a one-time thing. No big deal.” 

A shot of guilt raced through Taiyang’s body, like liquor in his veins but not at all pleasant. “It… doesn’t have to be.” Taiyang shrugged and let out a too-heavy sigh. “I do like you, Qrow, it’s just…” He shook his head. “Maybe this started for a bad reason, but it doesn’t have to be all bad-” 

He knew that it wasn’t going to be enough. Qrow didn’t like staying in one place much, never mind being attached to other people for too long in a way other than family. The guy didn’t like being tied down. 

Taiyang couldn’t blame him, really. 

“I’ll think about it, Tai.” Qrow finally said with a slight shrug. “It was fun, I just…”

“Yeah.” Taiyang mumbled, trying to press himself in close to Qrow. “I get it.” 

“Thanks, Tai.” Qrow said,  taking a singular swig from the flask before re-capping it and making himself comfortable against Taiyang. “Look, we’ll talk in the morning, okay?” 

“Sure, Qrow.” Taiyang whispered, dropping a kiss into the thinner man’s hair before cuddling in close against him. 


	31. Humanity - Witchhazel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hazel feels normal with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: "I felt alive with you" Salem/Hazel prompt
> 
> Hope you like it, anon!

Salem stared out at the world below her, looking for something that she couldn’t quite name and hoping that she’d be able to find something to help her relax. She didn’t know what she was looking for out there, but she still looked anyways. Grimm rose from their spawning pools, but it didn’t matter. Nothing really mattered, in the end. There was an eternal war, and they were nearing the end of a stalemate.

In a few years, another stalemate was sure to begin.

It was late. Most of her men had already gone to bed that night, and that was something that was of little concern to her. If she needed to talk to any of them, she could send a seer to find them.

That wasn’t to say that they wouldn’t come to her.

The door opening at the far side of the hall was the only sign that she got that anyone had arrived to see or speak to her. Salem paused, looking back over her shoulder to see that it was Hazel that had come to accompany her. She figured that he was up because he’d gotten frustrated with his teammates for some reason and had been having a hard time finding any sort of relief.

“Hazel.” Salem greeted him, turning just slightly to get a look at him. He looked like he hadn’t even bothered to get out of his combat clothes for the day. That tired, then? Interesting.

“You grace.” He greeted her, his voice just barely above his semi-permanent growl.

She couldn’t help but smile over the greeting. “You’ve come to join me?”

“Yes.” Hazel replied, coming forward and standing just a little bit behind her so that he could stare out at the wasteland below with her. Salem looked back at him again over her shoulder and paused before raising a hand to beckon the man forward.

He took the invitation until the two of them were standing side by side. The inequality between the two of them disappeared, even if it was only going to be for a little while. He crossed his arms and leaned against a pillar, watching a new pack of beowulves as they were born.

“What is keeping you awake tonight, Hazel?” Salem asked, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

“Thoughts.” Hazel replied calmly.

“I see.” Salem said with a quiet sigh, knowing that she probably sounded as skeptical as she felt. The truth of the matter was that the good Doctor Watts had finally managed to get so far under Hazel’s skin that the man wouldn’t be okay until he got a good chance to throttle Arthur. That wasn’t to say that it wouldn’t be deserved. “And so you came to me?”

Hazel shrugged, his eyes glued to the floor instead of the grimm outside. “Not much in the way of good conversation around here.”

Salem smiled softly. That was something that she knew better than to expect out of dear Hazel. The man was never one for conversation at his core. He liked his quiet and to be left to his own devices on the occasions where he wasn’t doing anything. Hazel was one of her strongest fighters for a reason.

He was also a confidant.

“Would you like to sit?” Salem asked.

He shook his head, something impossibly melancholy reading across his face. Salem sighed and turned, stepping in close towards him and raising a hand to beckon his attention. It worked. Hazel picked his head up and looked up at her with a gentleness in his eyes that she was unaccustomed from seeing from him.

“No.” He murmured.

Salem frowned slightly. “Then is there something I can help you with?”

“I don’t know.”

The words ground against Salem, and she couldn’t help but try o find something that she could say to dear Hazel. “I imagine you’re tired.” She said, her voice quiet.

“I am.” Hazel replied coolly before looking up at her again. His eyes were still so soft, like there was something that he wanted to do or say that he couldn’t quite convince himself to take the chance to do. He reached out for her, offering a hand in search of some sort of comfort.

Improper, was Salem’s first thought on the matter. Deeply improper. She took his invitation though, setting her hand down in Hazel’s as gently as she could manage. His touch was warm, much warmer than she was used to.

She didn’t say anything else to man though. The two of them relaxed together.

It seemed Hazel just wanted that contact, for a little while.

Salem figured that the work that she had to do for her had some impact on his psyche. Being cut off from the world the way that Hazel, Watts, Tyrian, and even young Cinder were had to damage them. It had to leave them thinking they were more like monsters than they were people.

“Is there something that you’re looking for, Hazel?” Salem asked, turning her hand in his and looking at the two of them where they touched. The contrast between the two of them was too noticeable. Earthen skin that had been dyed red by the light of the dust crystals in the room, with her stark white skin against his and standing out like a beacon.

“I don’t know.” Hazel replied finally. “Just to feel…”

“Normal?”

“Human.”

“Human.” Salem repeated the word, disliking the weight of it on her tongue. They both knew fully well that this was a dangerous situation to be getting into. “You’re losing touch with that part of you?”

Hazel hesitated, pulling his hand away from hers and crossing his arms back over his chest in that almost defensive way that he would. There had always been a certain sort of shyness about the man that Salem had never been able to deny. “It feels like it sometimes.” He murmured. “Couldn’t stop thinking about-” He paused, shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter. Some things I’ve done.”

“I see.” Salem stared down at her hands again, crossing them over each other in a way that read as being proper. “And so you came to me?”

“I know.” Hazel grumbled. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Hazel, you won’t find your humanity with me.” Salem said quietly, reminding herself that she had been like him once. Many, many years ago, she’d been human. Long before dear Hazel had even been born. “You know that.”

“I do.” Hazel grumbled, shrugging slightly and his eyes sliding off to another direction, like he thought there was comfort there instead. Salem knew he would find none.

“I know it isn’t what you want to hear.”

“It isn’t.” Hazel replied.

“You need to rest.” Salem replied, turning to face him. He didn’t look up at her, just stared at a part of one of the columns that looked like it had been carved into with a flower. He seemed to be thinking hard on that one thing in particular, but Salem didn’t comment on it.

“I do.” Hazel finally said, letting out a far too heavy sigh. “I’m going to go and walk.”

“To-” Salem’s eyes flicked down to the fields below. Hazel nodded slowly. Salem didn’t question it. “Return in one piece.” She said finally, handing it down as an order because that way she knew he wouldn’t deny her.

“I will.” Hazel said, beginning his walk to the doors from which he’d come to visit her. He paused there, looking back over his shoulder at her. He stood there for a moment too long and shook his head, eyes squeezing shut like the man was almost in pain.

“What is it?” Salem asked, her voice cold as ever.

“I just thought that I almost felt human with you.” Hazel murmured, finally stepping out of the room.

Salem was left alone, dumbfounded and unsure of what to make of things.

Human was a strong word.


	32. Original Sin - Yang/Mercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercury's never going to stop being angry at his father. Yang gets the feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Yang/Mercury, "We're not our parents."
> 
> I hope you like it, anon!

“You’re up late.”

Yang watched his back, and he didn’t move. It was late, that was true. The two of them had formed an unlikely ad hoc alliance for just a little while. All that either of them needed to do was make sure that the other was safe until they found some of the things that they were both looking for.

“Yeah,” Mercury replied to her, keeping his voice down. “Guess so.”

Yang grimaced slightly and joined him at the edge of the camp where he was leaning against a tree and staring out into the dark like he thought that he’d be able to find something out there. The first thing that Yang noticed when she finally got up close was the fact that Mercury was angry.

His eyebrows were knitted over the straight slope of his nose, and Mercury’s expression seemed to be almost schooled into a sneer. His shoulders, stiff and tense,  and held tight to his body. His lips were too tight.

“Is… something wrong?” Yang asked, leaning against a tree near Mercury. “Because you know what’ll-”

“I know.”

Yang was almost taken aback by the response that Mercury had given her. She hadn’t been expecting to get anything out of him, and definitely not something so angry and even sneering.

She had to fight back the very immediate urge to lash out and fight him over it, but forced it back. She had to remember her father’s words and playful jabs- she was no good when she lost her temper.

Hell, Mercury was one of the people that had been the most instrumental in teaching her that particular lesson.

Yang let out a quiet sigh and took just a moment to collect herself before picking her head up again and looking over at Mercury again.   
  
“What’s wrong?”  
  
He sighed heavily and shook his head. Yang watched as Mercury picked a hand up and rubbed at his jaw, and what looked like a scar along the dege of it.   
  
“Nothing.” Mercury said, hesitating for a long moment.   
  
“Is it?”  
  
“No.” Mercury said a moment later. “Kept dreaming about things.”  
  
Yang paused, her expression sinking and her heart plummeting along with it. She and Mercury had both been through a lot in their young days. She knew that the things that they’d been through were different.   
  
Even if they both carried constant reminders of some of the thigns that they’d gone through on their bodies. As parts of their bodies.   
  
“Things?”  
  
“Yeah,” Mercury said with a slight shrug. “Like Cinder, how my dad was a piece of shit, how…”  
  
His voice trailed off.  
  
Yang knew better than to prod at that particular topic.   
  
“Is there a reason taht you’re so worried about it?” Yang asked. “Other than it being nightmares?”  
  
“Yeah.” Mercury muttered. “Your mom’s a real piece of shit, right?”  
  
Yang paused, feeling her heart plummet over the fact that the topic had even been brought to the table. Parents was something taht she and Mercury had a silent agreement not to touch. It was too sensitive most of the time, especially since between teh two of them as far as living parents went the only good one that either of them had was Taiyang.   
  
“Yeah,” Yang said with a slight shrug. She thought back to her mother, and their deeply troubled meetings that the two of them had experienced. “She was.”  
  
“Do you ever worry about…” Mercury shook his head, shifting slightly and staring down at his feet like that was going to somehow be enough to make him less angry at himself. “About being like her?”  
  
Yang paused, not really sure what she wanted to say. Her father had told her once in a while taht he saw a lot of her mother in her. But Yang also knew that this wasn’t what Mercury was asking her about.   
  
No, he was asking about something else entirely.   
  
“You’re afraid you’re going to be like him?” Yang asked. Mercury nodded slowly, giving the best response that Yang could have really hoped for in a situation like the one tehy were in. It made too much sense, when everything was taken into consideration.   
  
“Yeah,” Mercury muttered. “Soemthing like that.”  
  
Yang looked down at her right hand and sighed, stepping in close to Mercury and gently resting the mechanical appendage on his shoulder, almost like she was testing the waters. He realized what was happening though, and didn’t do anything to protest it. If anything, it seemed more like Mercury was doing his best to lean into Yang’s touch and accept the comfort that she offered him.   
  
He finally picked his head up to look over at him with those black eyes that had always looked too cold to her.   
  
There was something about Mercury that reminded Yang of ehr uncle Qrow, but she never really had been able to figure out exactly what that was.  
  
“I just can’t get him out of my head.”  
  
“I get that.” Yang said with a quiet sigh. “I can’t forget about Adam.”  
  
“It’s different though.” Mercury said quietly. “Adam’s not your parent.”   
  
“Raven’s my parent.”  
  
Mercury nodded slowly. “Yeah, he confirmed after a moment.” He paused. “She is.”   
  
“Do you think I’m like her?”  
  
“I dunno.” Mercury mumbled. “Never met her.”

“I never met your dad.” Yang retorted, knowing that it probably wasn’t enough. “But I can say that I don’t think that you’re like him.”

“What makes you think you can say that?” Mercury turned to face her finally, pulling away from Yang’s touch and letting their eyes meet. “How do you know that I’m not like him?”

Yang paused, not really sure about how to answer the question at first until something finally came to mind that he could say to Mercury. “Do you… like killing?”

“No.” Mercury mumbled. “Not since…”

Yang didn’t force him to finish. Those were demons that didn’t need to be brought up to the surface for any reason whatsoever.

“Right.” Yang said. “And do you think I’m going to just… run off on you or something?”

“No.” Mercury mumbled. “I guess not.”

“Then you aren’t like him.” Yang said with a slight shrug. “We aren’t our parents.”

Mercury paused, and a slight smile actually seemed to grace his face at the suggestion. “That’s it?”

“Yeah.” Yang said quietly. “We’ve got a chance to make our own way. We’re not them.”

Mercury turned and reached over for Yang, lacing his fingers with the cold steel ones of Yang’s right arm. It was comfortable. It was warm.

“Thanks, Yang.”

“It’s no problem.” Yang mumbled back as she gently tightened her grip on Mercury’s hand, holding him close and not daring let him go.


	33. Knowledge - Grandmasters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knowledge is power.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On tumblr, marykay91 asked: Grandmasters + libraries

Knowledge was a great thing. It was as harmless as it was powerful, as infinite as it was limited. It was a beautiful thing, and it was bound up in history and legend alike.

When the gods had selected their relics, their choices had never been mistakes or unintentional. Each one was a gift to humanity, some more powerful than others, but every relic was a great thing to be cherished.

Creation, for the ability to birth things from nothing, almost as though at will.  
  
Destruction, for the ability to take away and wipe the slate clean without effort.   
  
Choice, for the ability to decide which way things were meant to go.  
  
And lastly, there was knowledge.   
  
To Salem and Ozpin both, it had always been the most tangible of the relics. Humanity had decided that knowledge was worth recording early on. They’d invented ways to preseve it, and as time had worn on, they’d even found ways to duplicate it en masse for the entire world to say.   
  
And when that hadn’t been enough, humanity had built cathedrals to knowledge itself, and stacked them to the sky with books, scrolls, and tomes. Each one, containing something different. Even when the information was the same between books, they all contained different knowledge. Every different combination of words counted and was something to be cherished.   
  
Ozpin found themself thinking about Salem a lot whenever they found themself in the extensive collection at Beacon Academy. Beacon was home to one of the oldest collections in the four kingdoms, and was always adding more and more to its walls. Of course, there were works that had been all but purged from the collective consciousness, but it had been necessary, Ozpin had to tell themself.   
  
Most of those tomes had either been moved to more secure locations like the vault under the school, or they had been destroyed.   
  
Knowledge was a valuable thing, but it was too risky to let it get out and panic the people. Salem would gladly use information against them, Ozpin was sure of it. Their struggle had gone on for so long that both of them were well aware that the best way to win would be to somehow turn humanity against one or the other.   
  
And it was a tactic that had been kept off limits for a very long time.   
  
Ozpin had to wonder whether or not Salem had a library of her own, though. Would she walk through its halls, caressing the spines of every volume it held as though they were lovers? Would she purge that which was necessary when the time came? Did she have agents out in the world to collect more for her collection?  
  
Ozpin supposed that Salem didn’t, if only because the most valuable works were never the ones that went missing. Nobody wanted old books that smelled bad and had to be handled as though they could fall apart at any second. They wanted books that would help with their classes, or would otherwise help them get by in their day to day life.   
  
The fact that the most important texts stayed close was a small relief, to Ozpin.   
  
There were so many great things about libraries. The knowledge that they held was infinite and important. Their halls were as hallowed as that of a church (Although, Ozpin suspected students got up to far fewer extracurricular activities in the churches,) and their importance would never change. They were places meant only to grow, and to aid in advancement.   
  
Salem would love libraries, for all that they entailed. The Salem that Ozpin remembered loved to read, and to sip tea as she read over the next legend before laughing off the parts that were so obviously untrue. She would turn every page as though it was delicate, and the fact that her skin matched the paper had been something to tease her about early on.   
  
Ozpin found that there was comfort in mimicry. They began to find themself doing the same things that Salem did, although their audience for the mocking of the incorrect stories was never as knowledgeable as Salem was.

If they had a book that they could have written letters to Salem in, Ozpin was sure that it would have been used often, especially if Salem would respond.

But such a thing didn’t exist.

And even if it did, Ozpin didn’t think that Salem would have an interest in expanding her library with it.

It was a heartbreak that Ozpin would ultimately bury in their own library, a church for knowledge and a tomb for love. 


	34. Residual Anger - Crime Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junior thought that he'd died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> episoduscae asked: “don’t touch me.” Crime dads :)

A normal person would wear their ability to survive on their sleeve to some degree, but never as strongly or as proudly as Roman Torchwick. And he has survived some shit, that’s for sure. Not many people can make it through train crashes, shootings and being eaten, but dammit if he didn’t manage it himself.

The fall of Beacon Tower had ended up being the thing that fucked him over more than anything else. It had made finding Junior impossible once he’d finally recovered enough that it seemed like it was going to be possible to find the man. Scrolls were useless, and so it was Roman and Neo travelling in search of some people that they couldn’t locate.

Travelling to all three of the remaining kingdoms with little intelligence to go on wasn’t easy, but Roman had managed. Asking enough questions and looking in the right places had gotten him to exactly where he needed to be. Of course, he hadn’t been expecting to find Junior and the twins out in a small village in the backwoods of Mistral, but it was good enough.

Roman had finally found the guy, now it was just a matter of getting to the point where he could actually go ahead and try to contact Junior and start putting their lives back togehter properly. It wasn’t going to be easy, Roman knew that with absolute certainty.

There had been a part of him that had been sure that Junior had been dead, when he hadn’t been able to find Junior or the twins amongst the ruins of Vale. The only way that he’d been able to find out the truth had been because he’d had a run in with one of Junior’s old workers, who had been able to only say that Junior had left during the evacuation.

Junior’s home in Mistral looked nice though. It looked like the kind of place where someone with a family could have been able to sit down and relax and grow old. The knowledge that there was a bar in town was enough to make Roman guess that Junior had found other things to do while he was there in Mistral.

There was always going to be a market for a good bartender, after all.

Roman slipped into the inn that night, soaking wet, tired, and wishing that he’d gotten a chance to get a haircut sometime before he arrived there. The truth was that he felt like crap. But when he walked into the inn and saw that gigantic frame behind the bar, Roman was sure that his heart had been about to burst.

Junior was alive, he was well, and he was there behind a bar with his back turned to the door.

Steeling himself, Roman made his way to the counter and seated himself there. For now, he was going to have to wait until he got services. There was absolutely no good way that he was going to be able to get Junior’s attention without probably giving the guy a heart attack.

Junior turned though, and when he saw Roman the glass that he had been cleaning dropped out of his hand and shattered against the stone floor. The two of them locked eyes. Junior’s mouth dropped open, and Roman knew that he had just tensed up visibly in the middle of it.

“Hey.” Roman finally managed to say, keeping himself calm.

“Roman…” The name left Junior’s lips like a whispered prayed. “Roman, you-”

“Can we talk outside?” Roman asked, shrugging slightly. “It’d probably-”

“Yeah.” Junior answered, signaling to one of his coworkers that he was taking his break right then and there. He stepped out from behind the bar counter and the two of them made their way outside of the bar so that they could talk for a little bit.

The silence that hung between the two of them was way too heavy for either of them. “Junior I-” Roman took a step forward, hoping that he’d be able to get something to show that they were both going to be okay. “I’m sorry.”

“No.” Junior replied, crossing his arms over his chest and stepping back a little bit. “Don’t touch me.”

“Junior-” Roman swallowed on the name. Nothing he could say was going to be enough. Nothing he could say would ever be a good enough apology for everything that was going on. He took a deep breath before managing to speak up again. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Junior growled at him, leaning in slightly and speaking from behind gritted teeth. “You leave me thinking that you’re dead for-”

“Junior-”

“It’s been close to a year, Roman!” Junior exclaimed, running his hands through his hair and turning away from Roman. “You’ve left me thinking that you were dead and now you’re here-” Junior’s voice cracked violently. Roman felt like he cracked along with it. “What do-”

“I’m sorry.” Roman cut Junior off, shoving his hands down into his pockets and hoping that he was going to be able to relax. It wasn’t going to be enough to help him relax. Nothing ever was going to be until Junior accepted him. “I was having a hard time tracking you down. I’m sorry.” He paused. “I don’t blame you, what happened in Vale was… really bad.” He sucked in a deep breath that was never going to soothe him. “I’m sorry.”

“So you’re really here?”

“Yeah.” Roman mumbled. “I’m right here. Neo’s around too.”

Junior let out a deep breath and turned around, finally facing Roman again properly. “You’re going to stay?” He asked quietly, like he needed to be able to confirm that this was actually real.

“If you’ll let us, we’re staying.” Roman murmured. “Promise.”

“Alright.” Junior said, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Roman, pulling him in. He was warm, was all that Roman could think as he sank into his grip. Roman’s eyes slipped closed and he hummed in pleasure.

“You need a haircut.” Junior said, running a large hand through Roman’s hair.

Roman laughed into Junior’s shoulder. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I guess I do.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.” Roman answered. “Tonight’s for us.”


	35. Finish Your Drink - Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> orangeycookiekay asked: FIVE WORD PROMPTS WHILE DRUNK YOOOO "are you finishing that or?" OR alternatively "fight me, you attractive stranger"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've started letting people send me mystery prompts with no ship or characters attached, so sometimes there will be ones that are unstated.

“C’mon-” Qrow whined, leaning in against the bar counter and staring at his companion with bloodshot eyes. “Can you hurry it up so that we can get out of here?”

All that managed to get him was a very unamused glare directed at him by James Ironwood, his partner for the evening and hopefully something more. If the asshole ever decided to finish his goddamn food so that the two of them could finally leave.

It wasn’t that Qrow was antsy. Nah, that was actually pretty far from the case. Really, he was just frustrated in more ways than one and sitting around in an outdoor dining area in Atlas of all places (and really, someone was going straight to hell for that idea) wasn’t his ideal way of spending the night. No, if Qrow had his way the two of them could finish their damn food, go to James’ apartment out in the fancy part of Atlas for the rest of the night.

Whatever happened after that, Qrow was ready for.

“Patience.” James growled, leveling Qrow with an unamused stare. “Some of us like to enjoy ourselves.”

“Yeah, but while you’re doing that some of us are freezing our asses off and-” Qrow got to his feet, stumbling slightly as he tried to get his legs under him. Oh boy, this wasn’t going well already. “Can we just get out of here?”

James sighed, balling his napkin up and tossing it down onto the empty space on his plate, where there were still a few fries left behind. Qrow watched as the man got up and wandered off, and Qrow couldn’t think of anything but to stare at his retreating form. The possibility that he’d gone ahead and just bullied James into getting the check crossed Qrow’s mind, but he didn’t dwell on it.

Instead, he just let himself slump back into his seat and stretched, making himself comfortable for at least until the point where James came back.

He watched James, watched as the man talked to someone and flashed a Lien card before beginning on his way back over to the table where Qrow was sitting.

James just crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow, waiting for something.

“What?” Qrow asked, plucking another fry off of James’ plate. “What’s your deal.”

James sighed and shook his head before gesturing to the half-finished drink next to Qrow. “Are you finishing that, or-”

Qrow blinked, picked up the drink, and downed everything that was left in one gulp while never breaking eye contact for the entire time. He saw the way that James blinked, looking a little bit more than taken aback.

The glass was slammed down onto the table and Qrow got up, shoving the last two fries into his mouth bfore reaching for James. “C’mon.” He mumbled. “‘M cold.”

James sighed heavily and took Qrow’s hand, tugging him in another direction than the one he’d started in. “Wrong way, Qrow.”

“Oh.” Qrow laughed. “Okay.”

James stared at him like he had two heads, and Qrow could only wish that made him feel or think anything in particular beyond vague affection.

He followed after James, until finally they were somewhere warm and comfortable to spend the rest of their night. 


	36. Customer Service - Emercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ara-kita asked: “zero fucks given. next please.” surprise me
> 
> You get Emercury

Every day, from 8 to 4, Emerald Sustrai lived in an eternal state of hell. There was no way to make her job enjoyable, and there were fewer things worse than being left in a retail environment. And really, she was way too done for this shit.

And besides, she’d checked out of this job emotionally and mentally on day two. Since then, she’d been almost constantly running on autopilot.

Today, however was special. It was special because it was going to be her last day spent in the overpriced hellhole that she called her job. After today, she was going to be able to go home, go to bed, and then get up whenever she wanted and actually enjoy herself for once.

The only problem was that she was stuck in a position where she had to face Satan, otherwise known as the  _Middle Aged Suburban Housewife_  of the “Homeowner’s Association Soccer Mom” subspecies. And she’d been stuck facing this hell for the last hour, because fuck her and who gives a shit about retail workers.

Really, what was she supposed to do?

“Ma’am-” Emerald started, doing her absolute best to block out her frustration even though it was very obvious that she was speaking through gritted teeth. “I can’t do anything for you when your coupon expired three months ago-”

“What do you mean you can’t do anything? I want to speak to a manager.”

Pointless. Emerald thought, grimacing and rolling her eyes. “You’re trying to use an expired coupon. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I really can’t do anything to help you.”

“Can you hurry it up?” A voice called from behind the woman. “Some of us have actual problems to deal with-”

Emerald shot the man a glare, trying not to snap even though they couldn’t do anything to fire her at this point. It was still for the best if she tried to do things on a respectful tone, if only for the sake of making sure that she left with a good reference.

But before Emerald could say anything, the woman had already turned to face the man behind her. “Excuse me?” She snapped. “I have no time for such rudeness.”

“Yeah, neither do I.” The man said. “So can you hurry the fuck up?”

“I-” She whorled around to face Emerald, her face showing nothing more than pure disbelief. “Aren’t you going to do something?”

“No.” Emerald said quietly, “Company policy keeps me from stepping in.”

“I  _really_ want to speak to your manager now!” The woman shrieked. “And I won’t stand for this treatment.”

“Ma’am.” Emerald started, her voice hardening up just a little bit as it left her throat. “I really can’t do anything to help you, and I’m not emotionally invested in this situation.”

“You aren’t-” The woman sputtered, eyes widening as she stood up just a little bit taller. “I’ll have your job for this.”

“Zero fucks given.” Emerald finally snapped, since it wasn’t like she was going to get fired when it was her last day anyways. “Next, please.”

“I’m not-”

“If you don’t leave, I’m going to call security.” Emerald deadpanned, reaching for the phone at her desk because the threat alone was going to be enough to get what she wanted. The woman stared her down and her lip quivered for a moment, before she slammed the sweater that she’d been trying to buy down on the counter and hurrying her way out.

And really, that was all that Emerald needed at that point. She picked her head up and watched as the man that was next in line, who was handsome with messy grey hair stepped up into line.

He smiled and set down a box with a reciept on top of it. Before Emerald could ask what he needed help with, he spoke up.

“So were you really going to call security?” He asked. “Or-”

“No.” Emerald admitted, reaching for the box and dragging it closer to her. Routine return by the looks of things, thank god. “But it scared her off.”

“It took balls to do what you did, you know that?” He asked, smiling charmingly.

“It’s my last day.” Emerald said. “I have to survive the hour and then-” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter that much, though. I’m just done with this.”

“Oh.” The man said calmly. “Well, I would like to treat you to a celebratory dinner in that case.”

Emerald sirked, a little unsure of how to read what the man was doing. Really, hitting on a woman while she was working was scummy but…

Well, she wasn’t obligated to play nice anymore.

“I’ll think about it.” She said calmly, looking at the screen. “Might want to start with your name and number though.”

“Mercury Black.” He smiled at her. “I should already be in there.”

“Mister Black.” Emerald repeated, smirking. “I’ll see what I can do for you.”

Maybe a dinner with a random stranger wasn’t so bad.


	37. Reverse Psychology - Tynder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: "Don't touch it" Tynder

“Don’t. Touch. It.” Cinder commanded, her voice hard and insistent as she made her way up to the terminal. Tyrian stood at the side, his hand hovering over a red button and his mind racing with the number of things that he could do if he wanted to.

Stealth. Right. But of course, how could he be such a lowly fool and forget?

He took a half-step away and placed some space between himself and the button, bringing his hands together in front of him and letting them wring together in an attempt to calm himself down. “Of course,” He said, putting on a wide smile. “Do you have any idea how long it’ll be before-”

“Sixty seconds, Tyrian.” Cinder said, not even bothering to look over at him. “Could you please keep an eye on the door for me?”

“Of course,” He responded, turning to face the door and checking that his guns were ready in case they would have company. He certainly hoped that the two of them wouldn’t be bothered, seeing as their job was of such great importance. “Anything for the sake of our-”

“Don’t say it.” Cinder replied, still focused on the screen. “Just be quiet and try to concentrate for once.”

That hurt so much more than it should have, and Tyrian couldn’t help the immediate want to shrink back or run or hide that overtook him. It shook him down to his core, and Tyrian did waver for just a moment as he stood there, watching the door and letting himself slip out of view beside it.

“I just want for us to succeed.” Tyrian said, his voice quiet. “For Her sake, but also because I had plans for our payment.”

“Did you now?” Cinder asked. Her voice as interrupted by a beep, then the harsh sound of metal and plastic scraping against each other as she tore the drive that she’d been carrying away from its port. “Because if this is something-”

“It’s important!” Tyrian hissed, looking back at Cinder over his shoulder as he crouched a little bit lower. “But-”

“But what, Tyrian?” Cinder snarled at him, in that way that somehow managed to make her both more attractive but also much more terrifying. “Because if it isn’t important then I really don’t want to hear it right now.”

Tyrian frowned, finding himself at a loss for words. “Nothing,” he said finally, his voice dropping down into that tone that he hated to use so much. The one that spoke all too clearly to how dejected he was feeling, and how he was such an utter and complete mess. “I just wanted-’

“If it’s so important, you can tell me later.” Cinder said, offering her hand like she was asking him to take it in his own. Tyrian knew better though, and deposited her handgun in it like it belonged there. “Are we clear?”

“Yes.” Tyrian said, shifting and even squirming about. “I believe that we are.”

Cinder rolled her eyes. “You better be right.”

“Anything for you, my dear Ember.” Tyrian replied, smiling and following after her as the two of them finally made their way out of the room and began on the mad dash out of the building so that the two of them could meet their getaway and run.

Silently, Tyrian resolved to tell Cinder that she terrified her but that he would gladly take a bullet for her anyday. That he wanted to use his paycheck to take her to dinner. Someday, but today, it seemed, would not be that day.


	38. Vigil - WitchHazel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: "please, you can’t die now.” Witch Hazel

Salem reached out and placed a careful hand on his head. He was unconscious, and had been for several days now. Watts’ prognosis hadn’t been a confident one, and the reality of everything that had happened was weighing all too heavily over her head.

Watts and Hazel had returned to her fortress days ago, having gone off to try and ensure that she would have a Maiden under her control. The girl had been killed. Hazel had taken serious damage during the fight.

And how he was lying, unconscious in the small treatment room that she left to Watts. Presently the Doctor was off and resting for the night. It left Salem alone with Hazel for the time being, regardless of whether or not he was awake or not.

It was difficult. Extraordinarily difficult. Knowing that Hazel was dying, and after so many years of loyalty was a much more bitter pill than it should have been. Salem had thought that she’d managed to transcend this part of her. She’d been sure that worrying for a henchman was beneath her.

And so Salem wasn’t exactly sure as to why she was there looking after Hazel when he had failed her. If she were crueler she would have acted, would have removed the man from the equation himself. She would have left the scarring that now stretched across his chest and around his arms to fester into nothing.

But instead, she was there brushing his hair back away from his face and occasionally even dabbing any sweat away from his brow with a cool cloth.

A weak leader. That was what she was.

But it had been bred from something, Salem knew. It was the result of nights spent with the man when he hadn’t been able to sleep for whatever reason. It was the result of many tasks done correctly. All it took was one failure, and now Hazel was there, dying slowly.

Salem was sure that there were things that she could do to fix this, but they were dire things. Things that would rob Hazel of his humanity that he seemed to cling to so desperately. She couldn’t do that to Hazel, not if she wanted to maintain his loyalty and his ability to serve her.

“Please,” Salem whispered quietly, brushing the hair away from Hazel’s face once more. That one stray strand always managed to spring back into place, and there was nothing to stop it. “Don’t die on me.” She said quietly. “I need you here, Hazel.”

Hazel didn’t respond. He laid there, silent and unwell. Salem felt the tug of something terrible and deeply uncomfortable down in her chest and forced it back, just as she stood up. She had things to do, she was sure. Watts would be returning soon, which meant that it was going to be up to her to return to her duties.

He would recover, Salem hoped. If he didn’t, then she was going to have a task on her hands when it came to finding a replacement.

And still, Salem knew that there was something deeply wrong that was going to cling to her regardless. There was no escaping her emotions, no matter how inhuman she managed to be.


	39. Fragility - Tynder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: “i’m not going to break.” Tynder

Tyrian was beyond nervous about sharing the training room floor with another person again. It was his first time stepping in with his stinger gone, and with only their Goddess, Cinder’s two minions, and grimm around it was hard to find a suitable opponent.

But when Cinder had come to him requesting that he come to the training room with her, Tyrian hadn’t quite known what to think of it. The both of them were so badly injured, and neither of them had any good way of getting past their injuries. And how! Neither of them had healed all the way yet, and Cinder was still in beyond poor shape.

Qrow Branwen and the Silver Eyed Warrior had done their damage to him, but it was still nothing compared to what the girl had done to Cinder.

“Are you sure?” Tyrian asked, stretching and leaning forward slightly. Normally he would have let his tail out and stretched it, but with the injury…

He needed the chance to relearn how to fight without his stinger. Cinder needed to relearn how to battle herself.

This was going to be a difficult training session, either way.

Cinder didn’t respond to him though. She just stared him down with a fire in her amber eye, one that told Tyrian so clearly that Cinder wasn’t about to back down. Instead, Tyrian watched as she picked her hands up, testing and stretching her fingers as she prepared herself for what was to come.

So Tyrian smiled at Cinder, because that was what seemed like the best thing for him to do. “Very well.” He said, dropping down low and bringing his weapons up at his sides.

There was a quiet for a moment that lasted for a little too long, and then the two of them both moved. Tyrian knew the routine for this just as well as dear Cinder did. They would fight to three, and the winner would…

Well, this wasn’t a time where either of them particularly felt like negotiating stakes. Not when they were both injured and trying to relearn how to fight the way that they used to.

Cinder shot fire at him from her hand in a controlled burst, and Tyrian realized quickly that this was a fight where he was out of his league. Why, it wasn’t to say that he’d never sparred with her before, but now with things diffent Tyrian wasn’t quite sure where he stood.

There was a jealousy and frustration bulding in him that he wasn’t able to ignore as easily as he would have liked. Cinder was stronger than him now. It wasn’t like before when she hadn’t possessed the power of a maiden.

But now, Cinder seemed fully prepared to burn him alive.

Which meant that if Tyrian was to win this match,then he needed to outpace her and get in close.

But if she was only able to fight with fire, then Tyrian couldn’t help but fear what would come should he come in too fast or too viciously. Cinder’s body was still injured, she was slowed and weak.

The Goddess wouldn’t like it at all if he were to leave Cinder with more injuries. Tyrian nearly shook when he realized what he would face should he fail in such a way. His Goddess would be displeased, and she was already disappointed in him.

Oh, it was terrifying.

So Tyrian did the only thing that he could think of while he was facing Cinder and lept out of the way of the burst of flame, trying his best to ignore the scent of his hair getting singed. He let his arms splay out at his sides, feeling the blades attached to them extend out to their fullest length before leaning in and forcing himself towards Cinder.

The woman seemed to try and move out of the way of him, and when Tyrian ralized that he was moving fast he forced his body to twist and pivot away.

She stared him down, frustrated and angry and she opened her mouth to shout out something at him. But her voice was still too quiet.

Tyrian felt an instant pang of guilt and let his arms drop to his sides in surrender. Sheepishly he allowed his approached before Cinder stepped in close to him and reached out with her uninjured hand to cup his jaw.

She pulled him in close to her, and he felt the brush of her lips against the shell of his ear.

“Why are you being so careful?” She asked, her voice too quiet but also angry and gentle all at once. “I’m not going to break.”

It was a command, and Tyrian squrimed. “I understand.” He said finally, keeping his voice as tight and controlled as he could (which wasn’t much, needless to say.) “As you wish.”

The two of them pulled away from each other and settled into their starting positions once again.

This time when they fell back into the battle, neither of them allowed themselves to hold back.


	40. Secret Admirer - Seamonkeys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ara-kita asked: "Okay it was me... so?" seamonkeys

Sun was tired, and he wasn’t afraid to show that off. He stretched his entire body long, feeling a little bit frazzled after a long day of training. Things had been weird, the last few days. He’d kept on finding cards and small gifts in his locker for the last few days and Sun was really curious to find out what they were all about.

The only problem was that it had been a few days and he still had absolutely no leads.

To Sun’s knowledge his teammates were already back in the room, although it was close to dinnertime and…  
    
Well, Neptune, Sun, and Sage always were good at handling themselves without him.

He knocked on the door to the room haphazardly, not expecting anyone to answer.

Instead, he was greeted with the almost panicked sound of Neptune’s voice.   
    
“Uh, one minute!” He called from the other side of the room. “I just need to-”

“Dude, it’s just me!” Sun called back as he pushed the door open. “What’s the big-”

What he found was Neptune, sitting cross-legged on his bed and looking a little bit more than nervous as he sat there. “Um…” Neptune was staring at him with his eyes too wide and too worried. “Hey, Sun.”

Sun cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out what was going on with Neptune.

Or rather, what the mess on his bed was all about.

“Is uh… everything okay?” Sun asked, walking across the room and shrugging out of his shirt, sick of wearing it for the day. “Because you’re acting a little bit-”   
    
Finally, his eyes fell on what was sitting on Neptune’s bed. It looked like a small tin box, that was meant to be filled up with something. Next to him there was also a package of candies- banana and chocolate by the looks of it.

And based on the look on Neptune’s face and the way that the man’s expression had reddened so badly, Sun had an idea.

He seated himself on his bed, crossing his legs under him and just stared across at his teammate. “Are you… okay?”

“Uh…” Neptune shifted awkwardly, trying to pull a blanket over the mess that was sitting on his bed. “Yeah, I’m good, I just don’t want to-”

And that answered the question that had been going through Sun’s mind.

“If something’s wrong, you can tell me, you know that right?”

Silence. Figures.

Sun just laid back on the bed. “Have I told you about my locker?”   
    
“Uh, no?” Neptune asked, and Sun could tell how awkward his friend was feeling and acting. “Why would I want to know about my locker.”

“Well,” Sun began, choosing a spot to stare at on the ceiling. “Someone’s been sneaking packages into it for the last few days and I’ve been trying to figure out who has been doing that.”

“Oh.” Neptune said, and Sun could hear the sound of his teammate scrubbing his hands through his hair in frustration. “I uh… Yeah, I don’t know anything about that.”

“You sure?” Sun replied. “Because it sounds like you might know something about it and aren’t telling me what.”

“I…” Neptune began to speak and Sun could hear the catch of a strangled noise in his throat. Sun wanted to get up and go over there and comfort his friend, but right now he didnt’ know that he could. It wasn’t that easy. “Yeah, it was me.” There was a long silence, one that lasted for close to forever. “So?”

“I just want to talk to you about it.” Sun replied, turning and allowing himself to sit up finally. “Is that okay?“ 

"Yeah.” Neptune replied after a very long pause. “It is, I just…” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”   
    
“So don’t say anything.” Sun shrugged. “I mean, you’ve been giving me stuff all week, and you’ve got more there so we’ll just say that it’s been talked about and move on?”

“That’s….” Neptune stared at him with pure disbelief written across his face. “That’s it? You just want to-”   
    
“Yeah, why not.” Sun shrugged. “We know each other really well already, we’re partners, we’re friends. I’m game for being more than that if that’s what you want." 

And finally, Neptune smiled. "You mean it?”

“Yeah, of course.” Sun laughed. “I’ll even buy for the first date.”

Sun didn’t get a chance to brace himself before he was half-tackled onto his bed. He liked it that way. It really made things feel more real.

This was good. This was a good thing. Sun was sure of it.


	41. Study Partner - Ironwood & Ozpin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Maybe... Ironwood and Ozpin, College AU

Ozpin sat down across from his partner for what might have been the world’s worst history project. James was sitting there, bent over his textbook and scribbling notes down in the margins and all but unaware of Ozpin’s presence. Unsure of himself, Ozpin cleared his throat, and it was all that was needed for James to snap his head up and look at him. “James.” 

“Oz.” James breathed, sounding almost relieved. “I hadn’t known that I was supposed to be working with you-” He shook his head and slid the textbook across the table for Ozpin to see. “Good thing we share a dorm, huh?”

“It is.” Ozpin answered, scrunching his nose up as he looked over James’ notes before peeling his eyes up and staring at his friend. “You really want for this to be our topic?” James didn’t seem to waver, just leaned back in his seat and drank what Ozpin had to guess was the man’s fifth cup of coffee that day. “You want to do a history of coffee as a final presentation?”

James rolled his eyes and set the cup down. “Don’t give me that.” James laughed. “The only one that drinks more coffee than either of us is that Bart guy.” He paused and looked down at the textbook before shruggiing. “I just figured it was something we wouldn’t both hate, and when we’re staying up at 4 in the morning our topic will be on our mind.” 

Ozpin smiled. “That is some twisted logic, but sure. Coffee it is.” He paused and looked up at James. “Should I assume that we’re taking over the Beacon lounge?” 

James shrugged. “If that’s where you want to study. I don’t care where we do our research, I just care that it gets done in a timely manner.” He smirked. “Think you can do that?” 

“I think I can do ten times more research than you can in the next two days.” It was a challenge, and Ozpin was already sure he was going to regret it. James reached for his wallet and opened it before dropping a twenty on the table between them. 

“You’re on.” 

Ozpin did the same, and then the two partners went to work.


	42. Chocolate - Weiss & Klein

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anipendragon asked: One word prompts: Chocolate. (Lowkey want Weiss in it, but go wild no matter what you choose. <3)

Weiss was exhausted.

She’d spent an entire day doing almost nothing but handling herself for the sake of the people that had come to her father’s dinner table that night. There was only so much posturing that she could really do before she just got tired of it.

As quietly as she could manage, Weiss slipped into the cavernous room that she was supposed to call hers and sighed, slipping out of her heeled shoes before beginning to make her way over to the dresser so that she could at least remove some of her jewelry. The precious stones and carved silver was nothing like what she preferred to wear normally.

Really, when she looked into the mirror she saw some sort of statue that had been carved in the image of a perfect child by her father. Not herself. Not a person. No, the real Weiss Schnee had been left behind in Beacon weeks before.

What stood there in her room now was just a hollowed out shell. No different from a creature of grimm, but probably more in kind to a summoned beast. Only there because someone else wanted her to be there.

Weiss forced the thought away from her mind as quickly as it came, turning away from the dresser. She was only a few steps away when she heard the sound of a gentle knock on her door. As soon as she heard the sound, Weiss’ mind was racing with possibilities. Her mother was unlikely. Her brother was possible, but Weiss really didn’t want to deal with him in that moment. Winter was gone.

Her father…

Well, she didn’t want to think about him too much. Not when she’d already spent an entire night appeasing him because the CEO of an iron company had decided to come over for dinner.

“Miss Schnee?” A gentle voice called through her door, and Weiss felt her heart jump in her chest at the realization of who it was.

“Coming!” She called, turning and making her way over to the door.

On the other side of the door, standing there with his eyes gentle and a tray in his hands was Klein. He’d always seemed to know what she needed and when she needed a caring shoulder to lean on. Really, he was more like a father to her than anyone else. Weiss loved him for it, and there was a quiet whisper in the back of her mind that told her that she should try to introduce him to her teammates someday if she got the chance.

“Hello Klein.” Weiss greeted him, standing tall. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Klein answered her, smiling softly. “I do have this hot chocolate that could use someone to drink it.”

Weiss stepped forward and reached out, taking the mug for herself and bringing it up to her chest. Already she could smell the chocolate, and a quick glance down told her that Klein had taken the time to add whipped cream to the drink, and even the colorful sprinkles that she knew that he kept hidden away in the kitchens.

“Thank you,” She said, bringing the drink up to sip. “Is there any reason for this?”

“No.” Klein answered, laughing. “I just wanted to see that my happy little snowflake was doing well after tonight.”

Weiss hesitated, more than a little unsure of what she could really say to him about how she was feeling. “I’ll… be fine.” She said finally. “I’m mostly tired.”

“Well then,” Klein said, bringing his tray in front of him again. “I suppose that I shouldn’t keep you up for too long. Good night, Miss Schnee.”

Weiss smiled across at him. “Thank you, Klein.”

He bowed slightly and soon he was hurrying off to attend to something else. Weiss smiled and stepped back behind the door to her room, closing it. She crossed the room and took a seat on her bed, setting the mug of hot chocolate down beside her as she picked up the book that she’d been reading. It was one that Blake had recommended to her months before.

For a little while, Weiss felt just a little bit less lonely trapped up in Atlas as she was.


	43. Recon - Emercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ara-kita asked: "Pipe the fuck down asshole" emmercury

“See anything yet?” Mercury grunted as he laid on his back with his legs raised up above him and waited for something, anything to happen that would be able to be considered useful. It had been a while since he and Emerald had been sent out on a recon mission, but it was something that he could do.

He just didn’t like doing them.

“Pipe the fuck down, asshole.” Emerald hissed, bringing her binoculars down in displeasure. From where he was lying, Mercury had both the best and the worst view of Emerald possible, but it was also a position that meant that he couldn’t be lookout himself. It was a good thing that Emerald was good at what she did because otherwise Mercury was sure that they would be hopeless.

He rolled his eyes and picked his head up just slightly so that he could cushion it on one of his arms. “Is there anything?”

“No.” Emerald finally answered, grimacing and turning just slightly so that she couldn’t risk losing her balance on her perch. “Why, getting uncomfortable?”

“Kind of.” Mercury admitted, rolling his eyes. “Mostly bored.”

Emerald was quiet for a moment before she spoke up again, her voice a little less calm than normal. “Let me down.”

The order was more than enough. Mercury began to lower his legs as much as he could and Emerald clambered off. She took a moment to make sure that she had everything in order before turning to him and offering a hand. Mercury smiled, reached up, and took it so that he could pull himself up to his feet.

“Waiting around like this hasn’t been fun.”

“No.” Emerald laughed. “It really hasn’t been.” The two of them began back down on the path that would bring them to the road. She stretched, and Mercury found himself appreciating the sight, if only for a moment. “What do you think about getting food?”

“Food?” Mercury replied, thinking hard. How long had it been since the two of them had last been able to get something to eat? It had to have been a while, or else he figured he wouldn’t have been worrying about it so much. “Yeah, sounds good.”

Emerald smiled at him and began to lead the way, and Mercury couldn’t bring himself to even consider doing anything beyond just following after her. The two of them would find a place to eat, and then they would be on their way in the morning. Really, their main concern was making sure that they didn’t end up getting found by the people looking for them first.

When the two of them had been going through Kuchinashi they’d only managed to make a few enemies. Sticky fingers didn’t do anything good, and they had paid the price. Ever since every night was spent one step in front of the people that would probably have them killed. The situation wasn’t good by any means, but it was what it was.

Mercury was mostly glad that he had someone else that he was able to share in it with.

The road was empty for the most part, and so when they followed it Mercury and Emerald had a few things that they could rely on. Natural instinct was a more than large piece of it, but taking breaks to survey their terrain as they just had tended to go a long way. At the very worst, they might find a village and go in for an hour at most so that they could get supplies. Mercury was already certain that Emerald was looking for one so that they could get a hot meal instead of having to go ahead and hunt something down for them to eat.

But walking with Emerald often got too quiet too fast. Mercury figured that she was just focused on keeping them from getting killed. It wasn’t as though the two of them couldn’t fend for themselves, quite the opposite-

It was just that they couldn’t deal with too many people at once. Not if they wanted to get the most use out of both of their skillsets while they were in battle.

“So.” Mercury spoke up, deciding that it might be a good idea to break the silence. “We find a village and eat, then what?”

“Camping.” Emerald said, smiling softly. “Why?”

Mercury laughed, stepping up and bumping into Emerald playfully. “Dinner, warm fire… seems almost romantic.”

Emerald stopped dead in her tracks and shot him a too-hard glare that Mercury only saw affection in. She was smiling, despite everything. The girl let out a sigh and shook her head before nudging him back in response. “Why don’t you listen and pipe the fuck down, asshole?”

“Make me.”

Emerald looked like she didn’t know whether she wanted to punch him or kiss him.

Mercury  _really_ liked it.


	44. Study Habits - Seamonkeys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> celestial-nightlight asked: SeaMonkey- "shut up you fucking nerd"

“You know Lionheart is going to be mad that we’re skipping classes.” Neptune complained as he flopped back onto his bed in their dorm. They had decided that it was a good idea to take the day off. More accurately, Sun had decided that it was a good idea to take a day off with Neptune from classes because the guy was starting to be insufferable with worrying about final exams.   
  
“Lionheart won’t even know.” Sun reassured Sun as he flopped down onto the bed next to him. “We’re taking a special study day off, while our teammates are going to classes and taking notes for us.” 

Neptune frowned and sat up, pushing his blue hair back out of his face carefully. “I’m just not sure that this is a good idea. You know that we have Professor Nerina’s exam in a few days, and-”  
  
“Shut up, you fucking nerd.” Sun said, rolling his eyes. “What’s your score in her class?”  
  
“Uh-” Neptune blushed, tensing just slightly. “Well, first off, I’m an intellectual, and second off, it’s a…”  
  
Sun raised an eyebrow in interest. Typically they didn’t talk about their scores. When that sort of thing got brought up in the Team SSSN dorm, it was usually between Neptune and Sage, and Sun was happy to tune out in favor of enjoying himself. He got by his classes easily enough, so he could reply. “What is it?”  
  
“It’s a 95.” Neptune finally admitted, his face flushing dark red. “Okay, so maybe I’m worrying a little too much-”   
  
“Yeah,” Sun laughed. “You really are. And that’s why I decided to bring you here so that the two of us could relax and stop worrying about Nerina’s dust class for a few minutes. We’re doing fine, and you need to relax.“   
  
Neptune seemed to relax a little bit, finally letting himself relax back onto the bad himself. Sun sat up slightly, and watched as Neptune made himself more comfortable there. He looked a little bit happier than he had been earlier already, and that was all that Sun was looking for. He wanted to keep the peace with his partner and make sure that neither of them fell apart with worry.   
  
"Okay.” Neptune finally said, sighing. “So what did you plan for us to do today?”  
  
“I hadn’t planned anything particular.” Sun replied with a shrug. “I was figuring we had Ultimate Ninja Hunter Four, movies, and we have money so if we wanted we could go into the city to get something to eat.” He paused for a moment, realizing that it was possible that Neptune would want more for the two of them to do that day. “You like that place on Chrysalis Row, right?”  
  
“Uh, yeah.” Neptune answered, blinking and looking up at Sun. “That sounds good I just…” he paused and sat up, and Sun felt the stir of worry down in the pit of his stomach at the realization that Neptune had figured out something to worry about. That was exactly the opposite of what Sun wanted. “…Why didn’t you invite Sage and Scarlet for this?”  
  
And that was really the exact question that Sun had hoped wouldn’t get asked. “It’s uh…” He hesitated, looking away from Neptune and over at his friend’s bed instead in an attempt to relax and explain himself. “I didn’t invite them.”   
  
“Well, I’m sure that they would have liked this.” Neptune said calmly. “And you know that they don’t like it when we leave them out of stuff.”   
  
“Yeah, I do.” Sun replied, shrugging. “I just figured that this might be better if it was just you and me instead of all of us.”   
  
“Sun, they’re going to be pissed-” Neptune snapped. “This is going to turn into another boat argument and I really don’t want to have to go through that again.”   
  
“Hey, it’s not like that!” Sun cried, his brow furrowing as he leaned forward slightly. “Sage knows that we’re doing this. I’d rather you don’t turn me wanting to hang out with just my teammate into another boat argument. C'mon Nep-”  
  
“What do you mean Sage knows?” Neptune asked, looking fairly unsure of himself. “Sun, what did you-”   
  
“He agreed to cover for us.” Sun sighed, turning and facing away from Neptune. “I just wanted to have some time with you before classes closed for the semester and I’d go back to Vacuo for a while.” There was that deeply uncomfortable stirring down in the pit of his stomach. This was going terribly. “Is that so bad?”  
  
“I’d like to know what’s going on.” Neptune said finally, pausing and leaning in slightly. “Sun?”  
  
“I just like you a lot, okay?” Sun snapped finally, whorling around to face his partner. “I like you a lot and I wanted to butter you up with a day off before I told you that.”   
  
Neptune was staring at him, and he looked completely surprised. He blinked, and Sun just about wanted to drown in Neptune’s blue eyes. “You….” Neptune started, pausing. “You mean that?”  
  
“Yeah, I do.” Sun replied. “I like you a lot. Even if you are a nerd that worries about his finals too much.” He shook his head and let his eyes flicker up to Neptune’s. “Just please say something so I can stop feeling like an idiot.”   
  
“Uh, well…” Neptune swallowed hard, tensing. “I uh…”  
  
There it was. It was coming. This was the part where it all started falling apart and everything started to go poorly. This was the part where Sun got his heart broken because he’d bothered to tell the truth.   
  
This day was the worst idea ever.   
  
“Me too.” Neptune finally said, his eyes soft. “I… me too.”   
  
“Oh.” Sun replied, feeling a little bit more than just dumbstruck as he sat there with Neptune. “So what happens now?”  
  
“Well…” Neptune paused. “I guess it becomes a date day instead of just a day off, huh?”   
  
“Yeah.” Sun bit out a laugh. “It sounds pretty good to do that. Where do you want to start?”   
  
“Chrysalis Row?” Neptune suggested.   
  
Sun smiled. “Sounds good.”


	45. Goodbyes - Peter Port

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pugsanity asked: Goodbye and Peter Port for the one word prompts

Peter Port learned very early on that it was for the best if he treated every mission as though it could be his last. Despite the numbers of grimm that he’d killed, the number of criminals that he’d fought, he treated every mission as though they could end in disaster.   
  
And sometimes, that meant that he said a lot of goodbyes. 

It only got harder once he got older and he stepped into the realm of teaching. When it was him going off on his own, there was so much less to worry about. Back then, he could be reckless and he could jump as far into the middle of a fight as he needed to. 

But with students at his back, that wasn’t possible at all.   
  
Every day that Peter needed to go out with students, he found himself taking his sweet time before he left. He made sure to see to it that they enjoyed themselves before departing Beacon for battle. The las thing that he could have ever wanted to do was to find himself in a situation where he was saying goodbye, not for himself but for one of his students.   
  
Really,  he held himself completely differently in the field than he ever would when he was among civilians. In the field, there was so much more that was out there ready to reach out and grab him. So many things with curved claws and sharp teeth.   
  
Imagine his horror the day that it all came to finally meet him in a place where there were also civilians at stake. He never would have been able to predict how it ended up happening either. Atlas with hidden robots, one of his students tearing the girl apart unaware of what she was doing.   
  
The sound of grimm landing on the arena and sirens blaring was a humbling thing.   
  
And Peter Port was a huntsman. He was a huntsman, just the same way that Ozpin, and James Ironwood, and Barty Oobleck, and Qrow Branwen and Glynda Goodwitch were huntsmen. They’d all said their vows years before, they’d all promised their lives for the sake of keeping the people safe.   
  
And Peter was happy to stand, bring himself into the middle of the right and fight for the sake of the people that needed it. The fact taht he would go into such a battle with Bart, his oldest friend, his partner at his back was a small comfort. Years upon years of old battle techniques came back in a single wave of memory.   
  
Peter was lucky that Bart was glad to hear jokes to try and bring down the stress of the situation. He didn’t know how he would have been able to make things work otherwise. If not for that…  
  
Well, they would have been in even worse straits.   
  
Vale fell with Beacon.   
  
Peter regretted it. He had to say goodbye to a place that he had called home for his entire life, to his place of employment, and to his friends. Always nagging in the back of his mind was the knowledge that there were so many people that weren’t able to say goodbye themselves.   
  
Pyrrha Nikos was among them. Sometimes Peter would find himself thinking about the girl, trying to figure out whether or not there was anything that could have been done different to save her. Maybe if his classes had been a little better, maybe if they were able to change their focus and skill levels to be better suited for the individual rather than being based upon year alone.   
  
None of it mattered. Knowing what he did now, Peter knew that there was nothing that he could have done. The girl had given herself as a sacrifice. For what, Peter didn’t know.   
  
Just about every night he found himself wondering whether Pyrrha got to say her goodbyes.   
  
It wasn’t something he could dwell on forever though. There was going to be a future for Vale, and Peter was going to be a part of it. He would raise the city, he would bring Beacon back to its former glory among his colleagues. They’d continue Ozpin’s great legacy because it was the right thing to do.   
  
One day, Peter knew it would be time to say goodbye.   
  
But he didn’t intend to leave himself with regrets when that finally happened. 


	46. Beard - Ironqrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> machiavelliwithglasses asked: One word prompts: beard (?)(<3)

“Anyone tell you the beard makes you look like shit?“ 

On the list of things that James didn’t want to deal with first thing in the morning, Qrow was at the very top of his list. The fact that the man was there, in his office was something that James wanted to deal with even less.

He forced himself to sit up, pressing the heel of his palm into his eye in an attempt to make some of his hangover subside. A quick glance around the room told James that he hadn’t gone to bed the night before and had instead passed out at his desk. 

Not good. 

And now he had to deal with Qrow.  
  
Fantastic.  
  
"Hello, Qrow.” James grumbled, blinking and letting his hand drop down to his side. “What do you want?”   
   
“Well, you know-” Qrow began, leaning back in the seat that h’d decided to take over for the time being. “I figured I’d check in on an old friend in the middle of the apocalypse.”   
  
James sighed heavily and forced himself up to his feet, not at all wanting to deal with how terrible he felt with the hangover and everything brought into consideration. “So you chose to break in?”  
  
“Well you weren’t at home, so-”   
  
James paused, letting out a heavy breath through his nostrils before he turned to face Qrow properly. “So you’re saying that you came here after you already broke into my home?”   
  
“I’m saying that I needed to talk to you.” Qrow responded, all too calm with all things considered. It was almost like Qrow didn’t know that James was considering loading an explosive dust round into the other man’s head at the moment. “And I needed to do it quick.”   
  
James shook his head. “I don’t know what you want from me.”   
   
“I want to know that we’ll still have Atlas once this is over with.” Qrow said, leaning in and his voice and expression much more serious than James was used to seeing on the other man. “And seeing that this is waht you’re like these days, you aren’t exactly inspiring the most confidence.”   
  
“You’ll have Atlas.” James replied, hardening his voice and forcing himself to stand up a little bit taller and a little bit straighter, like he was at some sort of formal function despite the fact that when it came to Qrow that couldn’t be any further from the reality of the situation. “Or rather, I’ll have Atlas.”   
  
Qrow frowned, and James could only think that there was something else that the other man wasn’t telling him. There had to be a good reason that Qrow was there, and James doubted that he would have come to Atlas just because.   
  
“Qrow.” James said, his voice deathly serious. “Am I the only one that you’ve spoken to about this?”   
  
“No.” Qrow replied. “But you are the only one that I’m coming to that I’m worrying about going off the deep end and jeopardizing the whole thing.”   
  
James raised an eyebrow, feeling deeply unsure of what he wanted to say.  there had to be some sort of right answer, but James couldn’t figure out what it was for the life on him.   
  
So he stared Qrow down as he got himself a glass of water, because at the very least that was going to be a chance to begin the process of clearing away his hangover. “You don’t trust me.”   
  
“How could I?” Qrow laughed. “Jimmy, what’s this embargo thing about?”  
  
“There was a leak in the supply chain that was allowing dust to fall into the wrong hands.” James stated immediately. “Cutting it off at the source meant that it would be a chance to close that up.”   
  
“And the isolating the kingdom thing?” Qrow asked, his voice getting more serious.   
  
James sighed heavily and set his glass down on the counter next to him. “That’s what you want to talk about?”   
  
“It’s a serious threat to us, so yeah, actually.” Qrow growled. “You’re going to start another war, Jimmy.”   
  
“It needs to be done-”  
  
“Nobody else is closing their borders!”   
  
“We can’t-” James grit his teeth and tried to force all of his frustration and anger down all at once. It needed t be done. He needed to be able to communicate with Qrow clearly about everything that was going on without managing to make things worse. “We can’t get by when we don’t have current information because its impossible to gain intelligence in real time.”   
  
“So you isolate your kingdom?” Qrow snapped. “You know Oz would be pissed, right?”  
  
“Don’t.” James growled back. “Get out of my home and leave me alone. I have more important things to do than put up with you right now, Qrow.”   
  
“No.” Qrow replied. ‘You need to pull back on this whole thing, Jimmy. You’re only going to fuck things up for the rest of us if you keep doing this.“   
  
"No.” James replied. “I don’t think you understand. I am doing this because i need to protect my people. Ozpin is _gone_  and I’m not going to jeopardize my people and my kingdom when the group can’t communicate with each other.”   
  
“Jimmy, I swear-”   
  
“Qrow.” James repeated the other man’s name. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Stop acting like you do.”   
  
“I know Ozpin isn’t gone.”   
  
“I know you’re delusional."James growled back. "And you need to get out of my home.”   
  
“Nah.” Qrow responded, leaning back against a wall and crossing his arms over his chest. “You and I need to talk. Starting with you calming down and listening to me.”   
  
“I have work to do.”   
  
“Yeah, you do.” Qrow replied. “Starting with listening to me.”   
  
James frowned. “You aren’t going to leave me alone about this, are you?”   
  
“Nah.” Qrow smirked. “Sit down, its a long story.”


	47. Exchanges - WTCH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rubyisms asked: "give and take. that's life." & wtch?

Hazel stepped into the shared quarters belonging to team WTCH, tired from his travels and feeling more than just a little bit irritated. He felt like he’d managed to travel most of Mistral, in search of a meeting that brought very little of value to fruition. Loyalty only went so far: Hazel needed to see more in the way of action.

The first thing that he was surprised by was the fact that their quarters weren’t empty. That in itself was an annoyance, if only because he’d been hoping for the chance to lie down and rest.

But instead, he found himself in a room with Tyrian, who was curled into his mat in the corner and Cinder, who sat at one of the few desks in their room, staring into the mirror.

Hazel was left with his usual reservations over spending time with his teammates. Neither of them seemed to pay him the most mind as he made his way over to his bed to shrug out of his coat.

Cinder turned to face him, having caught his reflection in the mirror.

“Hello.” Hazel greeted her, if only because there was nothing else to do. “Better yet?”

Cinder opened her mouth to speak but let out a silent sigh before shaking her head. Typical, Hazel thought. The girl was still yet to heal, and he wasn’t surprised by that fact at all.

He seated himself on his bed and let himself lie back, finally feeling some of his tension begin to wash away. “I thought so.” The man mumbled, letting his eyes drift shut. All that he needed was a little bit of quiet and then-

“Hazel?” Tyrian’s voice broke through the quiet. “Hazel, your mission did you-”

“Yes.” Hazel answered, cracking one eye open to get a look at Tyrian, who had decided to sit up and rub at his eyes. He looked like a mess- more of a mess than usual, at the very least. Something had happened. “Did you?”

“No.” Tyrian gasped the lone syllable out, shifting and twitching and curling in on himself a little bit more than he already was. “My stinger it’s-”

Hazel sat up properly because every alarm bell in his head was going off over that. All that it took was one look to figure out just what the problem was. There, wrapped up around Tyrian was the man’s tail, with a part of it missing.

Hazel was beginning to wonder if he was the only one to return to Salem from his last mission without some sort of severe injury. The only thing about him was injured was the soles of his feet from the sheer amount of walking that he’d had to do. That and his sleep schedule, which Hazel had full intentions of fixing as soon as he got the chance.

“What happened?” He asked, because that was the human thing to do. Play along for now, and eventually he’d be left to rest. That was all that he wanted. All that he needed.

“The girl!” Tyrian cried, jolting forward slightly. “She-”

Hazel raised a hand to silence Tyrian. The boy had said enough. He thought back to his own youth, to the scars that criss-crossed their ways across his arms and the pain that had come. A mistake made as a young man. Something that couldn’t be reversed.

The only difference was that what Tyrian was suffering was something much more severe.

And really, it seemed that Cinder was in a similar position. There was nothing but awkwardness, and Hazel felt some long-buried need to do his best to intervene and comfort the two of them, like that would somehow absolve him of one of his sins.

“Listen,” Hazel growled, tired. “You lost. It happens. You gave, and you lost.”

“But-”

“Tyrian.” Hazel growled. “Listen to me.”

The man shut himself up at that, and that was really all that Hazel could have hoped for. Silence meant that he could actually do his job. So he let out a quiet sigh and let himself continue. “Life is a series of give and take.”

“But my tail-”

“Give and take.” Hazel repeated, not letting himself soften at all. “That’s life. It’s not pretty or good, but that’s how it is. And if you’ve been taken from, then you need to do your best to pick yourself up.”

“But-”

“Tyrian.” Hazel growled, his voice raising in volume just slightly. “This is a small obstacle. Don’t let it stop you.”

That seemed to be all that Hazel had really needed, because already Tyrian was shrinking back away and into his corner. Quiet, finally. Hazel glanced over at Cinder, checking that she understood as well. The girl nodded slowly, and Hazel sighed.

“Good.” He muttered. “Now if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed.”

Cinder and Tyrian exchanged a look between each other, and Hazel repeated a mantra in his head that declared that he wasn’t their father until he finally managed to sleep. Hopefully, the two of them would learn their lessons.


	48. Sinner and Deity - WitchHazel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pugsanity asked: “everything will fall into place.” WitchHazel

Hazel wrapped his right arm over, doing his best to ignore the charred skin and the lacerations in the process. He’d been back at Salem’s fortress for close to half a day at that point, and he was tired. Exhausted.

Few things matched the severity of the injuries on his arms that would take an unknown amount of time to heal. Injuries gained from Silver Eyed Warriors were rare things, especially for the average man. And because of that, he’d returned from a mission with a heavy conscience but also injured. There was really no graceful way to approach what he’d been through.

The man picked up the fresh bandages that he was intending to use, and was about to begin wrapping himself with them when his attention was snapped away from what he was doing by none other than a voice.

“You’ve done well for me,” She said, somehow managing to come off as a little bit kinder than she normally would have. Whether that was a good thing or not was something that was still very much up for debate in Hazel’s mind. “I am sorry for your wounds.”

“They’re fine.” Hazel grumbled, gritting his teeth and focusing everything that he had in making sure that the injuries were wrapped cleanly and tightly.

“I think differently, Hazel.” She said, taking her first step into view and lowering herself before him. There was something in Hazel that already wanted to protest the action, because this wasn’t how things were supposed to go. Not when it came to her. Not when-

Hazel forced the thought out of his mind as quickly as he could, if only because he knew how dangerous it could be to dwell on such things. “They’re just some cuts.”

“No, dear Hazel.” Salem said, gently pulling the roll of bandages from Hazel’s grip. He didn’t fight back against her, and so the roll fell away all too easily. “These aren’t like any other injury. The source is divine, not mundane.”

“And they’ll heal.” Hazel insisted, although he didn’t fight back when she took his arm in her hands, turning the limb carefully to better view the injury. “The mission is done. It had costs.”

“And you were brave to go on it, Hazel.” She said, her voice too quiet. “And I’m proud of you for coming back.” Salem paused, staring up at him with burning red eyes that communicated all too clearly who had the proper upper hand between the two of them. “Although I’m sure you have questions.”

“I do.” Hazel grumbled, but he didn’t know where he was supposed to start. Where was anyone supposed to start with something like this. “But I don’t know I want answers.”

“I find that very hard to believe.” Hazel grumbled, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth as Salem finally began to wrap the injury properly. “This was what needed to be done?”

“Yes, of course-” Salem cooed, reaching a too-pale hand to brush Hazel’s unruly hair out of his face. “I wouldn’t ask you to do something for no reason, would I?”

“No.” Hazel sighed, feeling the disbelief welling in his chest but quashing it down just as quickly. “This will pass. Like the injuries.”

“It will.” Salem reassured him, smiling. “You’ve done very well for me, Hazel. Everything will fall into place soon enough, and you’ve taken the first step for us.” Her hand lowered to cup his cheek, and Hazel let his eyes slip shut as he pressed his cheek into her palm.

She was surprisingly warm. It was wrong to do this, surely it was overstepping the bounds of their professional relationship but in that moment, Hazel just didn’t care.

“I don’t want to do a mission like that again.” Hazel mumbled. “She had-”

“I won’t make you do one again.” Salem answered, moving away from him and standing. “Consider this a test that you have passed.”

It was a relief, Hazel supposed. Something that he could cling to for the time being in the hopes that it would make things easier. Salem finished wrapping his arm in near silence, and for that time Hazel felt like he could just bask in her warmth.

And really, he hated the pang that he felt in his chest when the injuries were cared for and she turned to leave him. He wished that he hated it less than he did.

But Salem was a goddess, and he was a mere sinner.


	49. Archives - Grandmasters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> marykay91 asked: Grandmasters + libraries for the prompt thing?

Knowledge was a great thing. It was as harmless as it was powerful, as infinite as it was limited. It was a beautiful thing, and it was bound up in history and legend alike.

When the gods had selected their relics, their choices had never been mistakes or unintentional. Each one was a gift to humanity, some more powerful than others, but every relic was a great thing to be cherished.

Creation, for the ability to birth things from nothing, almost as though at will.  
  
Destruction, for the ability to take away and wipe the slate clean without effort.   
  
Choice, for the ability to decide which way things were meant to go.  
  
And lastly, there was knowledge.   
  
To Salem and Ozpin both, it had always been the most tangible of the relics. Humanity had decided that knowledge was worth recording early on. They’d invented ways to preseve it, and as time had worn on, they’d even found ways to duplicate it en masse for the entire world to say.   
  
And when that hadn’t been enough, humanity had built cathedrals to knowledge itself, and stacked them to the sky with books, scrolls, and tomes. Each one, containing something different. Even when the information was the same between books, they all contained different knowledge. Every different combination of words counted and was something to be cherished.   
  
Ozpin found themself thinking about Salem a lot whenever they found themself in the extensive collection at Beacon Academy. Beacon was home to one of the oldest collections in the four kingdoms, and was always adding more and more to its walls. Of course, there were works that had been all but purged from the collective consciousness, but it had been necessary, Ozpin had to tell themself.   
  
Most of those tomes had either been moved to more secure locations like the vault under the school, or they had been destroyed.   
  
Knowledge was a valuable thing, but it was too risky to let it get out and panic the people. Salem would gladly use information against them, Ozpin was sure of it. Their struggle had gone on for so long that both of them were well aware that the best way to win would be to somehow turn humanity against one or the other.   
  
And it was a tactic that had been kept off limits for a very long time.   
  
Ozpin had to wonder whether or not Salem had a library of her own, though. Would she walk through its halls, caressing the spines of every volume it held as though they were lovers? Would she purge that which was necessary when the time came? Did she have agents out in the world to collect more for her collection?  
  
Ozpin supposed that Salem didn’t, if only because the most valuable works were never the ones that went missing. Nobody wanted old books that smelled bad and had to be handled as though they could fall apart at any second. They wanted books that would help with their classes, or would otherwise help them get by in their day to day life.   
  
The fact that the most important texts stayed close was a small relief, to Ozpin.   
  
There were so many great things about libraries. The knowledge that they held was infinite and important. Their halls were as hallowed as that of a church (Although, Ozpin suspected students got up to far fewer extracurricular activities in the churches,) and their importance would never change. They were places meant only to grow, and to aid in advancement.   
  
Salem would love libraries, for all that they entailed. The Salem that Ozpin remembered loved to read, and to sip tea as she read over the next legend before laughing off the parts that were so obviously untrue. She would turn every page as though it was delicate, and the fact that her skin matched the paper had been something to tease her about early on.   
  
Ozpin found that there was comfort in mimicry. They began to find themself doing the same things that Salem did, although their audience for the mocking of the incorrect stories was never as knowledgeable as Salem was.

If they had a book that they could have written letters to Salem in, Ozpin was sure that it would have been used often, especially if Salem would respond.

But such a thing didn’t exist.

And even if it did, Ozpin didn’t think that Salem would have an interest in expanding her library with it.

It was a heartbreak that Ozpin would ultimately bury in their own library, a church for knowledge and a tomb for love. 


	50. Family Dysfuctions - Yang/Mercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: Yang/Mercury, "We're not our parents."

“You’re up late.”

Yang watched his back, and he didn’t move. It was late, that was true. The two of them had formed an unlikely ad hoc alliance for just a little while. All that either of them needed to do was make sure that the other was safe until they found some of the things that they were both looking for.

“Yeah,” Mercury replied to her, keeping his voice down. “Guess so.”

Yang grimaced slightly and joined him at the edge of the camp where he was leaning against a tree and staring out into the dark like he thought that he’d be able to find something out there. The first thing that Yang noticed when she finally got up close was the fact that Mercury was angry.

His eyebrows were knitted over the straight slope of his nose, and Mercury’s expression seemed to be almost schooled into a sneer. His shoulders, stiff and tense,  and held tight to his body. His lips were too tight.

“Is… something wrong?” Yang asked, leaning against a tree near Mercury. “Because you know what’ll-”

“I know.”

Yang was almost taken aback by the response that Mercury had given her. She hadn’t been expecting to get anything out of him, and definitely not something so angry and even sneering.

She had to fight back the very immediate urge to lash out and fight him over it, but forced it back. She had to remember her father’s words and playful jabs- she was no good when she lost her temper.

Hell, Mercury was one of the people that had been the most instrumental in teaching her that particular lesson.

Yang let out a quiet sigh and took just a moment to collect herself before picking her head up again and looking over at Mercury again.   
  
“What’s wrong?”  
  
He sighed heavily and shook his head. Yang watched as Mercury picked a hand up and rubbed at his jaw, and what looked like a scar along the dege of it.   
  
“Nothing.” Mercury said, hesitating for a long moment.   
  
“Is it?”  
  
“No.” Mercury said a moment later. “Kept dreaming about things.”  
  
Yang paused, her expression sinking and her heart plummeting along with it. She and Mercury had both been through a lot in their young days. She knew that the things that they’d been through were different.   
  
Even if they both carried constant reminders of some of the thigns that they’d gone through on their bodies. As parts of their bodies.   
  
“Things?”  
  
“Yeah,” Mercury said with a slight shrug. “Like Cinder, how my dad was a piece of shit, how…”  
  
His voice trailed off.  
  
Yang knew better than to prod at that particular topic.   
  
“Is there a reason taht you’re so worried about it?” Yang asked. “Other than it being nightmares?”  
  
“Yeah.” Mercury muttered. “Your mom’s a real piece of shit, right?”  
  
Yang paused, feeling her heart plummet over the fact that the topic had even been brought to the table. Parents was something taht she and Mercury had a silent agreement not to touch. It was too sensitive most of the time, especially since between teh two of them as far as living parents went the only good one that either of them had was Taiyang.   
  
“Yeah,” Yang said with a slight shrug. She thought back to her mother, and their deeply troubled meetings that the two of them had experienced. “She was.”  
  
“Do you ever worry about…” Mercury shook his head, shifting slightly and staring down at his feet like that was going to somehow be enough to make him less angry at himself. “About being like her?”  
  
Yang paused, not really sure what she wanted to say. Her father had told her once in a while taht he saw a lot of her mother in her. But Yang also knew that this wasn’t what Mercury was asking her about.   
  
No, he was asking about something else entirely.   
  
“You’re afraid you’re going to be like him?” Yang asked. Mercury nodded slowly, giving the best response that Yang could have really hoped for in a situation like the one tehy were in. It made too much sense, when everything was taken into consideration.   
  
“Yeah,” Mercury muttered. “Soemthing like that.”  
  
Yang looked down at her right hand and sighed, stepping in close to Mercury and gently resting the mechanical appendage on his shoulder, almost like she was testing the waters. He realized what was happening though, and didn’t do anything to protest it. If anything, it seemed more like Mercury was doing his best to lean into Yang’s touch and accept the comfort that she offered him.   
  
He finally picked his head up to look over at him with those black eyes that had always looked too cold to her.   
  
There was something about Mercury that reminded Yang of ehr uncle Qrow, but she never really had been able to figure out exactly what that was.  
  
“I just can’t get him out of my head.”  
  
“I get that.” Yang said with a quiet sigh. “I can’t forget about Adam.”  
  
“It’s different though.” Mercury said quietly. “Adam’s not your parent.”   
  
“Raven’s my parent.”  
  
Mercury nodded slowly. “Yeah, he confirmed after a moment.” He paused. “She is.”   
  
“Do you think I’m like her?”  
  
“I dunno.” Mercury mumbled. “Never met her.”

“I never met your dad.” Yang retorted, knowing that it probably wasn’t enough. “But I can say that I don’t think that you’re like him.”

“What makes you think you can say that?” Mercury turned to face her finally, pulling away from Yang’s touch and letting their eyes meet. “How do you know that I’m not like him?”

Yang paused, not really sure about how to answer the question at first until something finally came to mind that he could say to Mercury. “Do you… like killing?”

“No.” Mercury mumbled. “Not since…”

Yang didn’t force him to finish. Those were demons that didn’t need to be brought up to the surface for any reason whatsoever.

“Right.” Yang said. “And do you think I’m going to just… run off on you or something?”

“No.” Mercury mumbled. “I guess not.”

“Then you aren’t like him.” Yang said with a slight shrug. “We aren’t our parents.”

Mercury paused, and a slight smile actually seemed to grace his face at the suggestion. “That’s it?”

“Yeah.” Yang said quietly. “We’ve got a chance to make our own way. We’re not them.”

Mercury turned and reached over for Yang, lacing his fingers with the cold steel ones of Yang’s right arm. It was comfortable. It was warm.

“Thanks, Yang.”

“It’s no problem.” Yang mumbled back as she gently tightened her grip on Mercury’s hand, holding him close and not daring let him go.


	51. Mornings - Cops and Robbers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lydiaroguepersonal asked: Cops and Robbers + “tell me this is a dream.”?

Qrow’s brain absolutely refused to cooperate if it was earlier than 10 in the morning and he hadn’t had his coffee yet. However, waking up alone wasn’t fun and the smell of food was wafting up from the kitchen.

He groaned and dragged himself out of bed, stumbling a little as a stray blanket wrapped itself around his ankle. No good. Annoying, really. If he wasn’t the last one getting up, Qrow knew that he would have gotten scolded for nearly tripping. It would have woken someone up- probably James. He tended to be a light sleeper.

Qrow blinked, knowing that it was going to be a while before his brain started to wake up. At least he could smell coffee.

Walking down to the kitchen was a pain, but when he got there, Qrow saw that Junior was at the stove, jabbing at something in a pan with a spatula. James and Roman were sharing the table, James bent over his tablet and reading something while Roman flipped through a book, smiling wide.

James heard him coming down first and looked up at him from behind his reading glasses. James was ready to leave for the day, Qrow realized. Something had to be going on, but he couldn't even begin to imagine what that thing could have possibly been.

"Morning." Qrow croaked, walking over to the table and dropping down into one of the empty chairs. "What's for food?"

"Pancakes." Junior muttered, sounding bored. If Qrow had to guess, the guy had probably gotten up intending to make something and had found himself needing to send someone out to get ingredients. At the very least, that was enough to get James dressed in the morning.

"With chocolate chips?" Qrow asked, leaning back into his seat and rubbing at his left eye. He felt like he was still dead on his feet. Once he got food and coffee into him, Qrow was sure that it was going to get better.

Now Roman looked at him, smiling widely with something deeply mischievous swimming in his eyes. "Junior is making us blueberry pancakes this morning," Roman announced, sounding a little too cocky. "Because he loves me the most."

"Junior is making blueberry pancakes because there was a sale at the farmer's market."  James stated in that dry, matter-of-fact way that he had. "Not because Roman is his favorite."

"Thank you, James." Junior called from the stove. "Qrow, coffee?”

“Someone please tell me this is a dream.” Qrow sighed, mostly talking to himself as he was once again reminded that he was lucky that the others didn’t mind that he didn’t always have many ways of helping out with things. They were good to him, and Qrow was sure that he didn't really deserve it. But, that was something to think about later. For now, the most important thing was getting coffee and food into his body and relieving his sleep-addled brain. "Yeah, coffee sounds amazing."

"Cream and five sugars?"

"You know me so well." Qrow laughed, stretching slightly and feeling his foot bump into James' under the table. James didn't say anything, if only because the gentle nudge of his foot against Qrow's was enough of an answer.

It wasn't long before Junior came over with the first plate of pancakes and a mug of coffee which he set down next to Qrow. "You three can fight over it." Junior joked, clearly talking about the pancakes.

Qrow smiled and sipped at his coffee, gently nudging the plate of food over towards Roman. James didn't protest it, and Roman just smiled and took the plate, cutting into the side of his first pancake with his fork.

It was only a moment before Junior was being congratulated for his cooking, and all that Qrow could really focus on the entire time was just how soft and pleasant the morning with his lovers was.

Really, it felt like a dream, and if it was Qrow never wanted to wake up.


	52. Temptation  - Glynda/Salem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous said: "You've been deceived" - Salem/Glynda (Witch Hunt?)

Glynda didn’t quite know what to make of this, as she stared down at the woman that had come to her that night. Vale was still lying in ruins around her, and Beacon was still far from being rebuilt. Glynda was exhausted. She knew that her hair had fallen out of order a while ago and she’d never quite let herself do something to fix it. 

Somehow, from the broken down buildings and the dust that had settled over what was once Vale, Salem had come to her. How anyone could have expected her to know what to think of Salem was beyond her. 

And yet she was there, nonetheless. 

“Hello, Glynda.” The queen of grimm greeted her with a sly smile and red eyes. Her porcelain skin stood out too brightly against the black of the Valean night. “I see you’ve been abandoned to this city.”

“Salem.” Glynda greeted her visitor, ready to snatch up her crop in a second should the need arise. This was dangerous, Salem was more powerful than anyone could dare forget. Glynda wasn't going to be the one caught with her guard down. "What brings you to Vale?"

"Choice." Salem answered, and that word and what it meant was more than enough to send a violent shiver up Glynda's spine. That alone managed to shake Glynda to her core and make the blonde wish that any of the others were there with her. If Ozpin, or Qrow, or James had been there, it would have been better. She wouldn't have to be preparing to fight Salem alone. "I suspect you haven't had such a thing for some time." 

"I chose to stay here." Glynda responded, sneering and gritting her teeth. She didn't want to be the one to throw what was actually going on out into the open for Salem. It was better if she was able to keep Salem guessing than giving all of her information. "Because I care for my kingdom."

"But of course." Salem cooed, stepping in a little bit closer. The motion was too fluid, despite that. Salem didn't look or act like someone that moved on legs, she somehow managed to float on rubble and come across as even more otherworldly than her visage would imply. "You chose to stand guard over Ozpin's little academy." 

"I did." Glynda reiterated, tilting her head and reaching for her wand. "Though I don't see why you would be so interested." 

"I am, Glynda." Salem replied, standing up tall and lacing her fingers together in front of her. Regal. Queenly. Terrifying. "You know, I would be lucky to be able to have someone like you among my forces." 

"I want nothing to do with them," Glynda snapped back. "The ones that I have heard about have never been any good." 

Salem's eyes seemed to flare a brighter red for just a moment, and Glynda wasn't sure whether or not that was something that she had imagined or not. "You have been deceived, Glynda." Salem said, her voice far too gentle for what she was. It only served to put Glynda more and more on-guard. "You think that I am looking to destroy, but you haven't even considered who you follow." 

"I know who I follow." Glynda replied, finally wrapping her fingers around the handle of her crop. "And I refuse to let you destroy my home even further, or slander my friends."

"Ozpin is no friend to everyone, Glynda." Salem replied. "And I'll have no quarrel with Vale once I've gotten what I need." 

Glynda could have sworn that she felt the ground quake, and it made her heart jump in her chest. All that she could think of was the threats that had once lingered below cities and mountains. It reminded her of the ruin of Mountain Glenn, and the dragon that was now frozen on the remains of Beacon Tower. 

Salem surely had powers that Glynda never could have even fathomed. 

If she was someone lesser, she was sure that she would have found much less appeal in the goddess. 

But Salem crept towards her, reached out for her with an open hand, and cupped her cheek, almost too gently before cooing into her ear. "Glynda," Salem whispered. "If you just give me what i want, I'll leave you to save your city. You can rebuild, and I can even make sure that my creatures leave you." 

Glynda swallowed, feeling her throat go dry. 

"What do you choose, Glynda Goodwitch?"

Glynda wasn't able to answer.


	53. Loneliness - Tynder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous asked: “please don’t leave me alone.” with Tynder

Tyrian wavered in place, exhausted and able to feel the sweat pouring off of him as he faced his opponent. Cinder was there, standing tall and watching him closely. She was breathing just as hard as he was, and Tyrian was sure that she was also ready to drop. 

He sucked in a harsh breath and forced himself up a little bit more upright. 

"You're improving, my dear Ember." Tyrian hissed to Cinder, smiling widely and trying to get the most out of his chance to rest. "You know that the good doctor Watts will be ordering us to bed soon-"

She stared him down, and all at once most of the intensity seemed to rush out of Cinder's features as she dropped her hands down to her sides. They were both more than well aware of how things tended to go in the fortress. Their Goddess and Doctor Watts didn't tend to care so much about what they were doing, and were instead focused on other things like _the greater good_ , and _you aren't getting better, Tyrian. You're a disgrace Tyrian._

Tyrian hesitated for just a second before stepping in close to the woman. They were both spending most of their time in the training room, both doing their best to recover and relearn how to fight. For Cinder, that meant regaining her strength and relying on her left as much. For Tyrian, it meant getting himself used to the fact that he couldn’t use his tail the same way anymore.

With his injury, his semblance was also as good as gone.

Cinder was the only one that Tyrian let see him as he was. She got to see the fear and the stress that the injury had given him. And now that it was late, Tyrian could feel some of those concerns coming up again.

“Ember.” Tyrian whispered to her, now that the two of them were close. “You know that it is late. We’ll be cast away soon and-” He stopped himself from going any further, chewing at his lower lip before finishing. “I don’t want to be alone tonight, Dear Ember.” He whispered. “I know that you will be going to your little friends, but-”

Cinder was near-silent as she always was these days, watching him with one wide, golden eye and a look of some sort of shock written across her expression. This wasn’t a request that Tyrian would normally make of Cinder. Normally, he would allow her to just slip off to spend her time with Mercury and Emerald, but tonight…

Tyrian didn’t want to have to say that he didn’t want to be left alone with Doctor Watts. He didn’t want those verbal punishments and jabs tonight. Cinder reached from him, and her hand settled soft as ever on Tyrian’s shoulder. It sent a wave of almost relief through him that was going to be enough to carry him through the rest of the night, and Tyrian was sure of it. 

“You will?” Tyrian asked. His voice raised in pitch, the same way that it always would when he was upset or excited by something. “You will not leave me alone?”

Cinder stared up at him with her eyes soft, and Tyrian finally allowed himself to sink into her. He relaxed under her touch, and let his tired and sore eyes slip shut while he nuzzled into Cinder’s palm. She understood, and that was really all that Tyrian could ever ask for. 

Her voice rose, as quiet as ever and hoarse and destroyed. In time it would heal, and Tyrian hoped to hear Cinder go back to her old tones. Her confidence, her brightness. He cared for her, but he missed the unending flame that she had been before the little girl had ruined everything. 

He missed how he was before she had come into his life as well. 

“I won’t.” Cinder hissed to him. “But we need to rest.”

It might have been the most that she had said to him in the course of the last month. Tyrian squealed in his excitement, and then the two of them began to clean up the training room as they prepared to move on with their night. 

For most of it, Tyrian found himself curled against his dear ember as the two of them took the time to unwind. It was nice not having to talk. 


	54. Failure - Salem + WTCH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lydiaroguepersonal asked: “you look like an accident.” with some part of team WTCH involved somehow?

They'd returned to her with so much less than she had wanted, and Salem was livid. She'd been more than clear with regards to what she wanted from her minions, and when they'd left it had been clear that they'd understood her needs.    
  
She wasn't happy about the fact that they'd returned to her fortress without any maidens in hand.    
  
The four of them were still in the foyer of her castle, all seeming exhausted and none of them wanting to talk to each other.    
  
And all of them looked worn out and even injured.   
  
Tyrian was the first one to notice her presence, and he scrambled into position in front of her, dropping gracelessly to the ground and going prostrate before her. Watts was the next to pick up on it, and a quick glance over at Hazel was all that the two of them needed to make them fall into line.    
  
Lastly there was Cinder, who was possibly the worst for the wear.    
  
Salem looked between all four of them once she was sure that they were fine before finally speaking. "You all look like you've been in an accident." She commented, since while she was angry, she needed to keep her head. All four of them were going to see punishment, but Salem had no intention of getting rid of any of them.   
  
Almost immediately as things had started, Salem dropped out of the kind demeanor, stood tall, and stared down at all four of them down her nose. "Explain yourselves."    
  
Watts and Hazel exchanged a look, both of them doing their best to figure out where to start with their explanations.    
  
In the end, Watts was the first to step forward. He placed a hand over his chest and gave a shallow bow. "Your grace," he said quietly, "We were successful in finding the Summer Maiden, but in our attempt to capture her, she was slain and Cinder did not inherit her power."   
  
And really, that was beyond frustrating.    
  
"So you mean to tell me that you failed me." Salem deadpanned, putting on her most unimpressed tone possible. "You know that I should not let this stand."    
  
"We know!" Tyrian cried out from the ground. He was practically shaking, and Salem was sure that whatever ended up happening, he would take it the most seriously. If any of them were going to be be broke down, it would be Tyrian. "I'm so sorry, my Goddess, I didn't mean to-" He reached out for her, and Salem took a step away.    
  
"Silence." She commanded, not needing to raise her voice at all. "I am very disappointed." Salem said calmly, focusing her gaze on Tyrian. "In all of you."     
  
As expected, the thin man began to sniffle like he was doing his absolute best to choke back his cries. Hazel and Cinder both looked rather downcast.    
  
And Watts didn't seem to be all that openly affected by it at all. If any of them weren't going to show that they were upset or hurt, it was Watts. Salem knew that. 

So if she was going to be getting through to Watts, then she was going to have to be able to target him specifically. Salem took a few steps forward, staring him down before finally speaking. “You were the one leading this mission, were you not, Doctor Watts?”

He stared back at her, challenging. Salem was sure that he wouldn’t actually go ahead and do that, but Watts liked to push her. Whatever happened from there was always a question. 

“I was, your grace.” Watts replied calmly. “Although I must say that there was a number of reasons that this mission failed.” 

“But of course.” Salem grimaced. Typical. All of it was so typical. “Watts, you should know that you are lucky that I will not directly punish you for this transgression.” She let her rage boil under her skin, and the only way that she let it show was in the flaring red of her irises. “But if you come to me with another failure of this magnitude, I will not forget it.” 

Silence. 

There was only the slightest twist in his expression, but Salem knew that she’d managed to get through to him. Watts was intelligent. He surely knew better than to defy or fail her again. 

“Of course, your grace.” Watts finally answered her, his eyes narrowed and his expression too serious. “It will not happen again.” 

“Good.” Salem responded as she moved away from them all, placing some distance between herself and them as she turned to leave them alone. “I don’t want to see you all until I know that you’ve all done your best to make up for this.” 

With that she left. Behind her, she could hear the quiet sounds of her team speaking to each other and trying to come to a conclusion as to what they were supposed to do. 

It wasn’t much, but for now, it could be enough.


	55. Rescuers - Yang/Mercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> edgelordsaeran said: "Don't fucking die on me," for Yang/Mercury, please? Thank you!

Words didn’t exist for how much she hated that the two of them were working together now. If it wasn’t for the fact that both of them had people that they cared about in danger, Yang was sure that she never would have agreed to it.    
  
But Ruby was missing. So was Emerald.    
  
Neither of them were going to be taking that sort of thing lying down.    
  
It didn’t look good either way. They just had the problem where neither of them were exactly the most tactical mind in the world.The compound was there, waiting for them, with armed guards outside because apparently there was something to be gotten from capturing some young huntresses. Mercury was running on the theory was that it would be a bounty. Yang wasn’t as sure.    
  
“We could just go in guns blazing.” Mercury suggested, craning his neck so that he could get a better view of what was to come. "Wouldn't be too great, but it would do the trick."    
  
Yang glared over at him, wondering whether or not he was even that dedicated to making sure that they got out of there. "Do you want us to get them killed?"   
  
"No," Mercury sighed. "Not really. But I don't know how many other options we really have."    
  
Deep down, Yang was sure that Mercury was right on at least some level. Things were bad, and while they could hope that Ruby and Emerald were going to be able to get out on their own, Yang wasn't confident in that. There were still too many ways to shut down a semblance, and too many ways for this to go wrong.    
  
"We'll have to fight our way in, probably." Yang sighed. This would have been so much easier if they had more people to work with. It would have also been a lot better if they weren't two brawlers looking to go into a rescue mission. "I just hope that we can be fast enough."    
  
Yang listened to Mercury, and watched the way that he tilted his head back just slightly in thought. Mercury let out a quiet hum before finally smiling wide and looking over at Yang. "We could go fast, just have to get ourselves ready for it before we go in."    
  
"What are you talking about?"    
  
"We use your semblance, for one." Mercury said with a shrug. "Get you going before you're even in there and you can just blast through them."    
  
"And what about you?"   
  
Mercury paused, looking up and down the building that was going to end up being their target. "I can make my way up the walls and scale the building, get in through a window."    
  
Yang blinked. It wasn't the absolute worst idea that she'd ever heard, and it did definitely have the potential to go well. It also had the potential to go horribly wrong, but Yang didn't want to go focusing on that part of it. “Do you think that this can work?”

“I think we don’t have many better ways to do this.” Mercury said as he stretched his arms out. “You better not fucking die on me though.” 

And that was really a big surprise, Yang thought. She’d never expected to hear that sort of thing from Mercury of all people. The two of them had spent so much time at odds that for either of them to genuinely care about each other was wrong. 

But now, it was different. It was a matter of the two of them getting people that they cared about into safety again. 

In theory, that made the two of them partners for now. 

Yang glared at Mercury, somewhat unsure and judging at the same time before she finally allowed herself to answer. “I’ll keep it in mind.” 

“So should we get started?” 


	56. Recon - Tynder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous said: "Easier said than done" Tynder

“Is that her?” Cinder prompted, hovering over Tyrian’s shoulder as the two of them kept watch over the village below. Finding the cliff had been easy, as had scaling it had been. As of then, the two of them had been waiting there at that cliff for close to four hours, waiting for something to happen that there was no guarantee of ever occurring.

They’d thought that they’d managed to track the Spring Maiden all the way there, to Tsutsuji village, out in the northernmost reaches of Mistral. Their target had a name that neither of them had bothered to learn, but she was interesting, if nothing else. Soft pink hair and a friendly demeanor. 

Cinder almost felt bad about the fact that they were inevitably going to nkill or attack her. 

“I believe so.” Tyrian responded, stretching slightly. “Do you worry about her, my dear Ember?”

Cinder glared at Tyrian out of the corner of her eye, a little more than unsure of what to make of his choice to use the pet name there and then. “No.” She finally said, pushing down all of her own emotions and feelings all at once. “She has to go if she won’t agree to work with us.” 

“But of course.” Tyrian said, stretching. “Although our Goddess would prefer a vessel that can carry all four powers in one. It’s a shame that we should kill your sister to achieve, that, isn’t it?”

“It’s easier said than done.” Cinder responded, thinking back to Emerald, Mercury, and her’s assault on the former Fall Maiden. It had been a grueling match, and Emerald had nearly been killed for it. Mercury had been lit on fire. Cinder was sure that it would have been much worse had they attacked together. “Though I suspect you know that.” 

Tyrian stared at her with wide yellow eyes. His tail was twitching, just out of her line of vision. “You act like you doubt that we’d be able to pull this off.” 

Cinder grimaced, knowing that Tyrian had managed to see through her on at least some level. “I don’t doubt it.” Cinder said quietly. “I just don’t want you to get too confident.” 

“I can do anything that I must for our Goddess, my dear Ember.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Cinder replied, pushing herself up to her feet and brushing off her clothing. “We should do our best to check in at the inn, Tyrian. It’ll get us closer to our target.”

He grinned widely at her and stood up just the same, not bothering to brush his clothes off but taking the moment to wrap his tail back around himself and pull on his coat which he’d laid out for Cinder to lie on. “I look forward to it.” He said, smiling as widely as he always would. “Although I will miss the hunt when it is over.”

“But we’ll be stronger.” 

Tyrian stared her down, something in his expression that Cinder couldn’t quite read. It didn’t take her too long to figure out what was going on in Tyrian’s head. They weren’t going to be stronger. Tyrian was ineligible when it came to the power of the Maidens. 

The choice to leave Mercury and Emerald behind on this mission had been made with great intent. They both knew what this was going to end up with. Cinder would become the fall and the spring maiden, and she would leave much stronger for it. Her weaknesses would get worse, but at a great price. 

Cinder was ready for it, and she was confident that she would not lose herself or Tyrian in this particular battle. The two of them may come out of it worse for the wear, but Tyrian had been spending months tracking down this girl. Cinder had the power of fire and fall itself. 

Surely, between the two of them this would be an easy slaying. 

The two of them walked down the cliffside, taking their time to get lower and lower down until they were on the road and walking their way into Tsutsuji, where they would be able to finally meet their target and work from there. 

Cinder was prepared to play nice with the maiden for as long as she had to. Tyrian would keep to the shadows and wait for the best moment to strike. 

Between them both, the spring maiden was truly as good as dead.


	57. Between Games - Grandmasters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anipendragon said: -”you can’t expect me to forgive you” Grandmasters

“You know perfectly well what you’ve done.” Ozpin said, staring Salem down as she sat across from them, her hands bound in front of her and her expression distant. This was the end of the war, or at least this particular iteration of it.  
  
“I do.” Salem admitted, picking her head up so that she could stare Ozpin down with burning red eyes. “I’m surprised that you managed to catch me, Ozpin.”  
  
“As am I.” Ozpin replied calmly, their eyes focused closely on her as well. Salem looked worse than she had for some time. She looked exhausted, and somehow her porcelain white skin managed to look as though it had been bruised over and over again. The darkness was too strong against her expressions. “But you know what will come next, Salem.”   
  
“I do.” Salem replied calmly, her eyes slipping shut and a certain sort of calm slipping over her expression. “But I will not apologize.”  
  
Ozpin couldn’t help a small smile of their own. This was the same game of words that they always got caught up with when it came to Salem. It felt like the two of them had managed to have this conversation several times before. Every time, it still managed to be an interesting one, no matter how many times they've had to have it.   
  
"I know that you won't." Ozpin said quietly, sighing. "And I don't know how you'd expect me to forgive you anyhow."   
  
"I don't." Salem replied, a devilish expression tweaking at the corners of her lips. "You know that this isn't the end, Ozpin."   
  
"I am well aware." They replied, already beginning to take inventory on what would need to be watched after before the next war. Unlike last time, the shakeups in Remnant's politics were a little more devastating this time around. Last time, the kingdoms had been able to stand more or less intact.   
  
But now, Vale and Mistral had both fallen. Atlas was in shambles and Vacuo...  
  
Well, Vacuo always managed to stand tall after everything. Ozpin didn't quite know how they did it, but they did.   
  
The maidens would need to be accounted for. The relics would have to be scattered again, and that was a problem for later. Everything would have to be done in preparation of the next conflict, the next game that the two of them decided to play.   
  
Salem wouldn't hold back. Ozpin could tell that just by looking at her and the way that she was fighting so hard to cling on to what made her what she was. Even weakened, Salem was strong, and Ozpin could rely on that fact.   
  
Killing her would only be a disservice. Ozpin was more than well aware of that, it would send her off to find a host in the same way that Ozpin had to when Cinder Fall had slain them. Searching out a new Salem was something that would take much more time than they would be afforded.

Salem was quiet. She didn’t look back up at them, even as the burning red of her eyes began to burn out more and more with every moment. Finally, she spoke in a whisper. “We’ll fight again, Ozpin.”

“We will.” Ozpin confirmed.

“When we do, I won’t hold back at all.” Salem explained, all too calmly for someone in her situation. “I’ll fight you, and I will make you burn.”

“I know.” Ozpin responded, a quirk of a smile tweaking at the corners of their lips. “And I will be prepared when you do.” They turned away. It was time to leave Salem some time so that they could both recover. 

For now, Ozpin would just have to prepare their opening move for when they once again fell into conflict.


	58. Headache - Emercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous asked: "ok it was me... so?" for Emercury

The day was going terribly. It had been going terribly since the very moment that Mercury had gotten up that morning, and he was sure that it was going to continue going terribly even after he went to bed.   
  
The main reason that he was feeling so awful was because he’d had a headache which had set in sometime that morning while he’d been in the training room. It had been himself and Emerald facing off against grimm before eventually turning on each other for a more difficult exercise.    
  
Mercury didn't have to pretend like it was some sort of great mystery how he had gotten that headache. No, that was something that was very easily deduced by just looking into who his battle partner had been.    
  
Or rather, it meant that Emerald had taken a minute to fuck with his head when she'd needed a chance to reload. Mercury hated it when Emerald did that, but she didn't have the same capabilities that he did. She hadn't been taught how to fight and kill when she was basically in diapers.    
  
Regardless, the pounding of the headache was something that Mercury knew wasn't going to be letting up anytime soon. He flopped down onto his bunk, mostly ignoring Emerald's presence in the bed across from his.    
  
"Welcome back." Emerald said, flipping the page of whatever book she'd picked up to read. "How're you feeling?"   
  
"Ask yourself that." Mercury responded, balling his hands into fists and then pressing them into his eyes. It didn't do anything for the pain beyond distract, but it was also pretty much exactly what he'd needed then. "Head's killing me."    
  
"Oh." Emerald replied, blinking and looking back down at her book. Playing dumb, Mercury knew. "I'm sorry to hear that."    
  
"Not even an I'm sorry?" Mercury snapped, not bothering to look back over at his partner. "Because I can't say that I really appreciated this."   
  
"I don't-"   
  
"I know what you did, Em." Mercury groaned.  "You always do this. You get scared in a fight, and when you feel like its time to reload you fuck with whoever is on the other side."    
  
Emerald sighed, dog-earing her book and closing it before looking over at him properly now. She didn't look like she was happy about it either. "Okay, it was me." She admitted, snapping her gaze back away from Mercury. "So... I'm sorry, okay?"    
  
"Are you?"   
  
"Yes!" Emerald exclaimed. She hesitated for a long moment before sucking in a deep breath and allowing herself to explain what was going on. "Look, it's not..." She paused. "I don't mean anything by it, okay? When I need to buy time I have to do what I can."    
  
Despite it all, Mercury knew that was really the crux of the problem. Emerald wasn’t the best fighter in the world and she used her semblance to compensate. Mercury couldn’t really blame her for it, it just made sparring annoying. 

“I know.” Mercury relented, sighing and bringing his hands back down and away from his face. “I just don’t like that you always do it when we’re sparring.” He paused for a long moment, thinking. “You don’t have any better way to reload?”

“Not really.” Emerald said quietly. “In the training room here there’s nowhere that I can really hide or blend in, so I feel too… vulnerable disarming myself like that, I guess.” She blinked, staring down at her hands with a guilty expression. “And you and I agree that we shouldn’t hold back in battle.” 

And oh, how that made so much sense, at least to Mercury. Emerald was looking to be able to get things done without compromising herself against him. He knew her weaknesses, they both knew that. Mercury figured that Emerald knew some of his but she wouldn’t dare use her semblance to exploit him. 

“You’re right.” Mercury finally said, though he couldn’t put much conviction behind it. “We can change our sparring methods for a while to give you openings.” He offered, more than unsure of himself. “I mean, it’s nothing like being on a battlefield when we’re in that, you know that.” 

“Do I?”

“I think so.” Mercury rolled on his bed to face Emerald properly. “I won’t hold it against you if you need breaks to reload.” 

She was quiet for a long time before offering him a gentle smile. “Thanks, Mercury.” 

It was going to be about as good as this got, Mercury figured. It could have been a lot worse, that was for sure. However, she was still the cause of his headache, and Mercury wasn’t going to let Emerald forget it. 

He relaxed back into his bunk before posing a question. “Can I at least get a neckrub for my trouble?”

When Emerald glared at him in response, Mercury only laughed at the resounding “no” that ended up being her answer.    



	59. Opposition - Volcanic Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anon asked: "Everything I've worked for... you were given" - A Song of Ice and Fire (Cinder/Winter)

Ash fell from the sky like snow.    
  
Exhaustion was clinging to every part of her being, her senses    
mostly managing to be drowned out by the carnage that had already come.    
  
Cinder hadn’t been expecting to meet her match in the form of an Atlesian woman. She certainly hadn’t been expecting for that particular woman to be one that came from wealth and from a life without struggle. Winter Schnee had never had her body ripped away from her, Winter Schnee hadn’t had to slay anyone for the sake of her power. Winter Schnee had everything that Cinder had to fight for.   
  
It made her angry, as the two of them both drifted back to the ground. Cinder could practically feel the flame that had been supporting her burn out, the winds that had carried her snuffing out into nothing. Opposite her, Winter drifted back to the ground in a flurry of snow.    
  
“You’re strong.” Cinder said, stepping forward and raising a hand to prepare just another attack. If she needed to, she was going to be able to bring forth her swords. Winter was still armed, but hadn’t used her sword much beyond as a conduit for her semblance.    
  
Cinder was glad that she didn’t have to use a weapon in that way. She didn’t need another way to get weakened on the battlefield.   
“As are you.” Winter replied, staring Cinder down with a cold expression. “Though I don’t know why you want to continue this.”   
  
Cinder grit her teeth, her frustration building in her more and more. "You know why." She snapped back, taking a half-step forward and sending a blast of flame in Cinder's direction. "You and I are just on opposite sides."    
  
Winter's eyes widened and she lept out of the way, a small cloud of snow appearing in front of her at once to block the flame. Sure enough, the snow melted away, but it did its job. Winter stopped, one hand hovering over her sword. "You don't have to fight for her." Winter announced, holding her head high. Cinder hated that look. "We're the same. We're meant to bring peace-"   
  
Another cone of flame shot out towards Winter. "You and I are only alike in the fact that we are maidens." Cinder answered her opponent, dropping her hand down to her side. "But you and I are nothing alike."     
  
"That isn't true." Winter answered, hesitating like she was thinking through her next move. "We're both-"   
  
"Everything that you have-" Cinder began, taking a half-step in towards Winter. "I had to struggle to get. You didn't have to do what I did. You haven't killed for your power. You haven't been burned alive, you haven't  _ fought _ for it. You're just a spoiled girl."   
  
"That isn't true." Winter snapped back at Cinder, dropping to one knee and unsheathing her sword with a flourish. "You don't have to-"   
  
"No," Cinder replied. "I don't."   
  
"So why do you do this?" Winter asked, letting up for a moment. Whatever she had been planning had only managed to go forgotten. "You could be so much more, Cinder. But instead you choose to fight for someone who..." She paused. "What is she giving you anyways?"   
  
Cinder was taken aback. She'd been expecting more of the same posturing as before. The same cliched conversations, but instead Winter was surprising her by asking questions that nobody had really bothered to ask her before. "She's going to make me powerful." Cinder replied, after a long moment of hesitation.    
  
"You're already a maiden!" Winter snapped back. "What else could she possibly give you?" She went quiet, sheathing her sword and taking a few steps forward to approach Cinder properly, reaching out with an open hand. Back to the same thing, Cinder thought bitterly.    
  
"What do you think you'll do?" Cinder asked, watching the Schnee and feeling unsure the entire time. "By doing this?"   
  
"I just want you to stop fighting for her." Winter said, with an eerie sort of calm that only came from someone having emotion bred out of them in the Atlesian way. "You and I... we're both Maidens. We're both strong. So why kill people with that power when you could do so much more?"   
  
Cinder hesitated, not sure what she could do.    
  
In the end, only one option came to mind that would actually work. "I'm not making this decision."    
  
"Then don't." Winter replied, unsheathing her weapon once more. "But when you don't get what you want, don't come crying to me, or to Ozpin, or to anyone else."   
  
Cinder looked back over at Winter over her shoulder. "I won't."    
  
"I won't let you just leave." Winter snapped, plunging her blade into the ground and letting a glyph form around it.    
  
That didn't give Cinder much time. The woman waved an arm and let a line of flame burst forth from the ground, disrupting Winter's attack. "I know."    
  
And with that, Cinder activated the power of the Fall Maiden, let herself drift into the air again, and sent a torrent of frozen leaves at Winter the same way that the past Fall Maiden had done towards her once before.    
  
Winter deflected the blow by raising a King Taijitu that reminded her of the statue in her father's mansion.    
  
By the time she could see again, Cinder Fall was gone.


	60. Imposter - Tynder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> insaneauthor108 asked: I'm not sure if you've already done this sort of prompt but could you do cinder x Tyrian maybe that it shows their relationship status before the fall of beacon and how she was to being cunning and maybe rude towards him, but after the fall of beacon shed maybe vulnerable and looks for him as some sort of escape from her pain and frustration?

She comes back to Salem’s fortress injured, broken, and completely unlike herself. She comes back with rounded edges and fewer barbs, the fire inside of her half extinguished. It’s wrong. It’s not Cinder Fall. 

She feels more like an imposter of who she used to be than she does anything else. 

Tyrian doesn’t know what to make of it, when he and the others give their usual jabs at her. Normally Cinder would have snapped back, she would have done something to show that she was still alive inside. 

But instead, this girl sits there and stares at them with a sadness in her eyes that Tyrian can’t quite place. 

Definitely some sort of imposter. The Cinder that had been with them before would have come out of this ablaze.

Tyrian never quite knows what to do when he’s around her anymore. Without the normal barbed attacks that had made up their leisure time spent together, he’s lost for any idea as to how to act. Hazel’s keeping his distance, and Watts has only allowed himself to become more cruel in his jabs. 

Cinder comes to him while he’s in the training room, taking his time between grimm to have some water. She stares him down, and Tyrian stares back because he doesn’t know what else he can actually do. 

Neither of them say anything, just raise their weapons and face each other off because there’s not much else that there is that can be done. At first Tyrian goes easy on her, but Cinder retaliates even harder for it. It doesn’t take him too long to realize what he’s done to anger her. 

She’s looking to know that she’s capable of fighting at the same level, Tyrian realizes. This is her way of asking him for comfort. 

And so he obliges, throwing himself into the battle to his greatest ability, and fights Cinder as hard as he can. He wins match after match, and afterwards, he knows that Cinder isn’t looking for sympathy, so he never gives it. 

Instead, when the exhaustion sets in late in the night, Tyrian walks back to their collective room together and stays up as long as he needs to to make sure that Cinder actually gets her rest.

She comes back from Vale, rounded off and with her thorns shaved away, but there’s something stronger and more deadly being formed under the surface. Tyrian knows that it’s only a matter of time before they see it in full force. 

He isn’t afraid. He has no reason to be.

It’s better off that way. Otherwise, he’d be burned alive.


	61. Acquainted - Emercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mazut asked: "why do you care" + emercury

“You look like shit.” 

He delivers the line in a bored deadpan, not like he was making any effort to reach out to her. Emerald’s first thought is that it’s typical him- he’s just making small talk because he’s bored. 

The reality of the matter was that she and Mercury hadn’t said anything to each other that wasn’t strictly work. Emerald didn’t want him around, and in the same way he didn’t want her around. The two of them were there for Cinder and both of them were more than well aware of that fact. 

However, being on the road constantly was taking its toll on them both, and they both knew that perfectly well. Emerald was exhausted, unable to settle herself enough for sleep because  _ there was just no way to do that. _ Not when she was so used to running and finding the one safe place in an area to spend the night before having to do it all over again. 

Mercury hadn’t been sleeping well either, Emerald knew that. She just didn’t really care. To care too much about such a thing was vastly overstepping what their relationship was.

So when he stood there and commented to tell her that  _ she looked like shit, _ Emerald couldn’t help but be unamused by the whole thing.

“Hello Mercury.” She greeted him,  standing up and stretching as she re-holstered her guns at her back. Emerald wasn’t about to go pretending like she trusted him, not now. “What do you want?”

“Someone to talk to,” The man shrugged, flopping down into a spot on the ground and making himself comfortable. “Boss hasn’t been talkative lately.”

“So you’re bothering me?”

Mercury put on this shit-eating smirk that made Emerald want to reach out and slap him for a moment. “If you don’t like it-” He paused. “Well, I don’t think it matters that much since there’s nobody else to talk to.” 

“Right.” Emerald deadpanned, glaring at him with suspicion. “I just don’t know why you suddenly care to talk to me.” 

“I wanted to figure out what you think of all of this.” Mercury replied, gesturing vaguely with a hand that never managed to leave his knee. “Pretty crazy stuff we’re looking for.” 

Emerald paused, because Mercury was right- Cinder seemed to have them chasing fairy tales and it didn’t make that much sense. If Emerald felt that she had more of a choice, she wouldn’t have agreed to going with the woman. But blackmail and a promise of food had been enough to sway her. That didn’t make her believe in all of this though.

“Yeah, it is.” She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself and peering out at the world in search of something. A distraction, mostly. “Why do you care all of a sudden?”

“Always did.” Mercury shrugged again. “It’s just with what she’s saying about us going to the White Fang tomorrow, I’m not so sure about it.” He paused. “I wanted to get your opinion on all of it.”

Emerald hesitated to give an answer, picking her head up so that she could check that Cinder wasn’t nearby. Probably off on one of her weird private calls. “I don’t like it.” Emerald finally said, keeping her voice down. “It’s suicidal.” 

“It’s work, though.” Mercury stared up at her. “You think we’ll run into trouble?”

“I don’t know.” Emerald mumbled. “If we do, it's not like anyone will be able to do anything about it other than fight.” 

“What,” Mercury let out a barking sort of laugh. “You don’t think we can take them?”

“I don’t know,” Emerald snapped back, staring the man down. “Can we?”

“Well, while you were being a street rat, I was becoming a trained killer.” Mercury gestured nonchalantly. “I think I can take them.” 

Emerald paused, and looked back over her shoulder once more. Cinder was beginning to peek through the trees, which meant that it was time to cut this conversation short. “We’ll just have to see, I think.” Emerald muttered as she turned away from Mercury to greet Cinder. 

She tried to ignore the way that he seemed to linger a moment too long before he finally got up. 


	62. Guilt - monochrome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> machiavelliwithglasses asked: “but did you do it?” for the prompt thing?
> 
> You gave me free reign, so have some Monos!

“Blake?” Weiss knocked on the edge of the door to their room. Ruby and Yang were off and doing something as sisters, and she didn’t have anything to do that night. Blake had apparently wanted to spend the night in herself. 

But Weiss wanted to talk to her. No, that wasn’t right. She needed to talk to Blake. Still the events of their first semester together were buzzing in the back of Weiss’ mind, and the way that their entire team had almost fallen apart completely because of herself and Blake had been… less than favorable. 

And there were still things that they needed to talk about. Weiss knew that she had said that she was over it, but it wasn’t that simple. Things didn’t go forgotten all that easily. 

But Blake just picked her head up and shot Weiss a very unamused stare. “What is it?”

“I wanted to talk to you.” Weiss replied, walking over to her bunk and seating herself on it, just across from her teammate. “About some things that happened last semester.”

It took absolutely no time at all for Blake to figure out what Weiss meant. She set her book down once it was bookmarked and sat up herself. The two of them locked eyes from across the room, and Weiss realized that it was up to her to start. Not that she had any doubts about whether or not Blake knew what she wanted to talk about. 

“Right.” Blake said. “What is it?”

“I…” Weiss swallowed. This was going to go poorly, she could feel it down in her bones. “I wanted to ask you about your time with the White Fang.” 

And there it was. Already Blake’s eyes had began to narrow in obvious frustration before she snarled out a response. “What about it?”

“When everything… happened.” Weiss hit her lower lip, weighing her words carefully before she allowed herself to go forward. “I mentioned something that had happened and you reacted… weirdly to it. I want to know whether or not that’s something you know about.” 

“You’re going to have to be more specific.” Blake deadpanned. “Because that’s not-”

“An entire train car full of dust was stolen not long before we got to Beacon.” Weiss began to explain as she picked her head up and did her best to present herself as more confident than she really felt. “And I wanted to know if you knew anything about that.” 

Judging by the way that Blake had gone completely pale and dead silent, Weiss got the feeling that she already knew the answer to her question. And if she was right… well, it wasn’t going to be good.

“Whatever you say, I promise not to get angry.” Weiss added, because what else could she really say about this? 

“I do.” Blake said calmly, sighing. “It was a… delicate operation.” 

“You say that like you know something more than just that it happened.” 

Again, Blake’s silence spoke for itself. “I might.” She admitted finally. “It wasn’t that…” She hesitated for a long time, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. “I’m sorry.” 

“Were you…” 

“I don’t want to say.” 

“Did you do it?” Weiss finally put the question out in the open, because that was what she really needed to know. Her heart was sinking lower and lower in her chest, but she had no choice but to wait. “The robbery.” 

Blake looked away, gluing her gaze to a spot on the wall and Weiss sat on her bed, patiently. Eventually Blake was going to have to say something, that was a foregone conclusion. 

Finally the black haired woman sighed. “You promise not to hate me?”

“Cross my heart.” 

“I did.” Blake answered. “Myself and my old partner did the robbery together, and I left him as soon as it was done.” She went quiet again, and Blake’s expression was showing nothing more than regret. Weiss was going to be sure to have to do something to make up for this later on. Maybe tea? Blake liked tea. “I’m sorry.” 

Weiss took a deep breath, forcing herself into calmness before speaking once more. “I forgive you.” 

“You do?”

“I do.” Weiss said as she stood up and took a step forward, offering Blake her hand. “Do you want to go and get some tea with me?” It was an offer of good faith, but it was also more than that. And Blake seemed to realize that. 

“I thought you like coffee?” Blake answered as she stood up and took Weiss’ hand in her own. “Is this some sort of peace offering?”

Weiss felt her face redden and heat up. “It might be.”

“We’ll call it a truce then.” Blake smiled as she pulled her hand away and the two of them began on their way to the docks so that they could fly down to Vale for a nicer time than what they could get at the academy. 

Weiss felt like they had really managed to blow things over.


	63. Aid - Ozcinder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> smokypercy asked: “for once, i need you.” & ozcinder because i will never stop being garbage.

It had been close to four years since Ozpin had been slain in the vaults of Beacon Academy. It had been two years since Cinder had managed to distance herself away from Salem, and it had been incredibly difficult over the course of the last few years. 

And yet, Ozpin was going to her because they had no other choice. Despite it all, Cinder had the power of a maiden, and that was something that Ozpin needed, desperately. She just needed to be willing to lend her power and her time to them. 

They found her in an inn in Western Mistral, where Cinder was alone. 

Ozpin approached her, glad that Oscar’s trace had been finally taken over and that they could finally do their job. They approached her and seated themself beside her at the bar. “Hello, Cinder.” They greeted her, not bothering to order a drink. 

She looked over at them out of the corner of her remaining eye, and she looked angry. “Ozpin.” She greeted them. “Is there some reason that you’re here?”

“There is.” Ozpin responded. “You know that war is still being waged between myself and Salem.” They hesitated for a long moment, Cinder’s past transgressions not at all going forgotten. “And that your power is still needed.” 

“I know.” Cinder sighed, swirling her drink in her glass without looking over at them. “So why not go to some other maiden?”

“There are only four of you, and I will need all four of you.” Ozpin explained, staring at the wall across the bar from them. “For once, I need you, and your choice is going to be crucial.” 

Cinder turned finally, letting herself face them directly with an expression on her face that Ozpin couldn’t place. The burn scars didn’t help at all. “You need me.”

“The world needs you.” Ozpin answered, locking their eyes with Cinder’s remaining one. “The choice is yours.” 

 She stared them down, frowning before she finally spoke up once more. “This better be worth it.” 

“I assure you,” Ozpin smiled at her. “It will be.”

“I’ll help you.” Cinder finally said, her eyes snapping forward so that she was staring at the bottles on the bar wall. “But you need to promise me that I’ll be left alone after this.” 

It was a hard bargain, Ozpin thought, but the least that they could do was go ahead and try to make that offer to her if they could. With the way that the battles between Salem and themself, Ozpin was sure that Cinder would have at least a little bit of time where she was left to her own devices. 

“I can’t make you that promise,” They said calmly. “But I can guarantee that you’ll have some time away.” 

“And if I decide I need you?”

“Then I will be there.” Ozpin answered. “It’s for the best that this is a reciprocal relationship.” 

Cinder nodded slowly. She understood. “I’ll help you.” She finally said, toasting Ozpin with a sly smile before taking a sip of the amber liquid.


	64. Hired Guns - Crime Dads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ara-kita said: "so... did you miss me?" crime dads

Junior didn’t think that he kept a particularly long list of things that he wanted to have in his life. Really, all that he wanted was some job security, a good life with his family, and ultimately, to be left alone by people that could bring him trouble. That was all that he wanted. It was all that he needed. 

And yet, it would be shattered over and over and over again. One week its some annoying blonde kid, the next one of his distant associates is getting picked up by VPD, and then the week after that...

Well, that was this week, and Junior was exhausted. Cleaning up around the bar since the blonde’s appearance had been more than a full time job, and he himself had more than a few bruises that were still yet to heal properly. The bar wasn’t exactly in the right condition for visitors, but if someone really wanted to see him, nothing was really going to be able to stop them. 

And that was how Junior came in after his evening break (dinner had come from a nice popup down the street) to find Roman Torchwick  _lounging_  across his bar counter like some sort of cat that had just claimed a perch.

Junior stared at the man, sighed, and let the door close behind him before he finally let himself speak up. “Hello, Roman.”

“Why hello Junior,” Roman said, flashing his widest, most cocky smile. “What are you up to?”

“I could ask the same thing.” Junior replied as he shrugged off his coat. 

“So did you miss me?” Roman asked, deciding to skip the formalities for some reason. He had to be there because he wanted something, Junior thought to himself. That was the only logical explanation for his presence.

Junior blinked and turned to the man. “Was I supposed to be missing you?” He answered, trying not to let his tone betray his mood. “Because you were in a few days ago.” 

Roman sucked a hiss in between his teeth, and Junior raised an eyebrow, because there was really no way that could have been a good thing. Not when it came to Roman. 

“Yeah,” The redhead finally began. “I wanted to talk to you about that. You know your men aren’t very good.” 

“I’m aware.” 

“I’m going to need them for a little while longer.” Roman decided to cut to the chase. “I would rather just ask you along to help me out but-” He stared Junior down, frowning. “The bruise isn’t a good look on you, you know that?”

And that was unexpected more than anything else. Junior rubbed at his cheek, trying to find words that weren’t going to come to him easily. “I guess so.” He finally mumbled, sighing. “I’d go with you if I could.” 

“I know.” Roman grinned. “But you’re injured. Lend me your men and I’ll be sure to stop in and visit soon.” 

“Fine.” Junior sighed. “Just bring them back relatively intact.” He took a seat at the bar and Roman slid down into the space beside him. “Can you do that?”

“Of course I can.” Roman laughed, leaning in slightly. “Now, could you get me a drink?”


	65. Air Transport - Emercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anipendragon said: We’re hiding from the authorities and it’s very close quarters in here, I can feel your body against mine. - Emmercury

It had been 3 hours and 17 minutes before all of Vale had gone directly to hell in fiery mess. Emerald was exhausted, her mind strained a little too far from the tournament and the task of getting the three of them out of Vale without also getting killed was turning out to be a bit more than a simple task.

When she and Mercury had gone into this, they hadn’t been expecting to be dragging Cinder out of the city as she clung to life. All that they had seen was the blinding white light at the top of Beacon Tower and then…

Nothing.

The battle that had been there had ended. The grimm dragon clinging to the side of the ruined spire had frozen in place.

And it had been up to them to get to the top of the tower and find out what had happened, if not for their sakes, for Cinder’s employer’s. (And they really didn’t know all that much about the woman. Just that she was powerful beyond belief.) The two of them had managed, although it had been exceedingly difficult getting there undetected.

Nothing could have prepared them for what was to come. And now, as Emerald and Mercury crouched out of view with Cinder slung between them (Mercury was holding most of the weight, and that was a genuine relief in itself), they needed to figure out a plan to get out.

Their current quarry was waiting for them. It was a simple bullhead, Atlesian, and while getting a White Fang craft would have been easier, the faction had already begun pulling out. Emerald steeled herself, examining the situation before looking over at Mercury. “I have an idea.”

Mercury nodded, and let Cinder down to rest for the time being. “What’s the plan?”

“I’ll distract them.” Emerald replied, taking count of the number of people surrounding the ship. Two. It was going to be manageable, but it was going to be hard. “Just play along. We’re just trying to transport wounded. Once they take off, we hijack the ship and then...”

“Back to Mistral?” Mercury asked, sliding in to the space directly beside Emerald. He was throwing off heat like a furnace, and while Emerald would have normally found that somewhat comforting, here it felt wrong. Like a distraction. “You know neither of us know how to fly one of those things.” 

And yeah, that  _ was _ the big problem with this plan. But they didn’t have many other options. “We’ll figure it out.” She hissed back to Mercury, ignoring his closeness and standing up. This was going to hurt. “Just... follow my lead.” 

Mercury sighed and turned, lifting Cinder up and holding her to him carefully. He was lucky that whatever had caused her wounds had cauterized them, Emerald thought. This would have been much harder otherwise. 

Emerald took in a deep breath and took her first step into the small landing pad, emerging from behind the crates that she and Mercury had taken cover behind. Mercury followed close after. 

“Help!” Emerald called, catching the first guard’s eyes and activating her semblance. Deciding what they needed to see was easy enough. Exasperate Cinder’s wounds, change their faces, make her and Mercury look a little more banged up too. “We have injured!”

The first guard looked at her and then to Mercury and Cinder before looking at the ship. “We’ll get you out of here.” 

“Thank you so much!” Emerald replied as she got onto the ship behind him. She could already feel the mental strain, the migraine coming on her quickly. It was going to be up to Mercury to make sure that they got out of this. She’d just started the process. “Can you just... get us out of here?”

“We’ll have to look out for the grimm but..” The guard answered, sliding into the cockpit. “You want to go to one of the evacuation points?” 

“Nah.” Mercury finally spoke up, twisting his body to deliver a single well-placed kick to the second guard’s face before kicking the body out. “We just need your ship.” 

The guard looked between the two of them and realization dawned on his face. “You’re-”

Mercury took the few steps forward and grabbed the pilot by the collar, dragging him to the edge of the ship. “Just looking for a way out of here. Hope you don’t mind.” 

With that, he tossed the man out and Emerald stumbled to the front of the ship to hit the button that would close the ship’s door. After that, all they had to do was fly. 

And Emerald was so glad to have Mercury there in the ship beside her and Cinder. He made it feel so much safer, he was the only one that wasn’t somehow hurt. 


	66. Asshole - Yang/Mercury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anipendragon asked: why do you always have to be such an asshole? - Yang/Mercury

“So what are you up to?” Yang asked, standing over Mercury as she watched him pick up a rock, weighing it in his hand like he had something that he wanted to do with it, though Yang couldn’t exactly imagine what that thing could be. **  
**

“Nothing.” Mercury answered, staring at the road and watching as a few cars drove by.

All at once, Yang clued in  on what was going on, and so she dropped down beside Mercury, reaching over to remove the stone from Mercury’s grip before he could manage to get himself arrested. She figured that on some level that Mercury ending up at least in jail was inevitable, but that didn’t mean it was something that she wanted to necessarily go out and voice. “How about you give me that.” 

Mercury didn’t respond. He just glared at her and pulled his arm back, rock in it, and threw it into the middle of the road. “Nah.” He shrugged and let himself drop back into the grass, relaxing there. “I don’t want to.” 

Yang glared at Mercury, and she couldn’t think of anything to say other than to remind Mercury that he was about to get himself into trouble. “What is your problem?”

“Nothing.” Mercury deadpanned, not bothering to look up at Yang. “Just wanted to mess with some people.” 

“Is that really it?”

“Yeah.” Mercury shrugged, letting his eyes drift shut. “People were pissing me off.” 

“Am I pissing you off?”

“Would it matter if I said yes?” Mercury snapped back, and Yang couldn’t help but be a little bit taken aback by that comment, if only because it was so sudden. “Because I don’t think it does.” 

“Why do you always have to be such an asshole?” Yang snapped back at Mercury, getting up and taking a few steps away from him. If he was going to be this way, then why the hell should she play nice with him. “I just wanted to sit down and talk to you!”

“And I just wanted to throw rocks at people.” Mercury replied, getting up to his feet and picking up another stone on the way up. “I don’t know what your problem is!”

Yang was seeing red. She closed the gap between Mercury and herself, snatching the stone out of Mercury’s grip and throwing it far from the road. “My problem is that you’re going to hurt someone. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but-” 

Mercury stepped back, eyes blazing and with gritted teeth. “I’m not talking to you about it.” He growled, turning to leave. 

Yang wanted to punch him, at the very least put a crater in his face. What an  _asshole._  “Yeah, you do that!” She called back to him. She absolutely could have gone after him, but Yang knew Mercury and herself both a little too well for that. It would only cause trouble and there was no ignoring that fact. “Go run away and bottle it up more!”

Mercury stopped dead in his tracks and turned back around, his expression and posture equally dangerous. “It’s not a talk I’m willing to have.” He finally growled, a certain sort of calm washing over himself all at once. All that Yang could think was that it was scary- like Mercury was so much worse than he let show. And really, she knew him. 

He probably was. 

But she needed to do something. They couldn’t end it like this. “Fine.” She snapped, holding her head high. “But don’t you dare think of coming back here without a good reason for it.” 

Mercury frowned and stared back at her. “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

And just like that he was gone, and Yang was left watching his back. 

Under her breath, she muttered only one word. 

“ _Asshole.”_


	67. Resentment - Tyrian & Cinder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous asked: “sometimes, i wish you died.” with tyrian?

The resentment had managed to bubble up in his chest, over and over, again, ever since he’d first arrived back at his Goddess’ fortress. His problem came from so many places, his injury- his stinger  _ gone, _ the fact that he was being pushed off to the side. The fact that he was falling even below the lowest of the low these days. 

And yet Cinder Fall was there, managing to soak up their Goddess’ praise. Instead of being the one to win her favor, it was Cinder. 

That wasn’t to say that Tyrian didn’t see what he had done wrong. Oh, he knew exactly where he had failed- his Goddess had demanded that he bring her a girl with silver eyes and he had failed on that front. He’d come back to her damaged and broken and…

And that was it. He was a failure, and the slaying of Qrow Branwen wasn’t enough to make up for his sins. He’d disappointed her, and who was he to think that she would forgive him? He still had his life, that was a great sign of her mercy in itself.

But still, he burned. Even now when he wanted so badly to rest and relax, he couldn’t. There were too many signs of his failure surrounding him, one of which was very conspicuously attached to him.

Seeing Cinder at night didn’t make it any easier. Their paths would cross during meals and when it came to be time to rest. Tyrian hated her, oh how he  _ hated  _ her. It shouldn’t have been her to be the object of Salem’s affections, it should have been  _ him. _

And had the girl  _ died _ when she’d met the little Rose in Vale, Tyrian knew that he would have been the favored minion instead.  _ He _ was the one tasked with seeking out the Spring Maiden. Not Hazel, not Watts, and definitely not Cinder. It was his assignment and his assignment alone.

Because of that, he was sure that his bitterness was justified.

Tonight was a night like many others. Tyrian sat in his bunk, curled in on himself and facing away from the door as he always would in an attempt to block out the brightness of outside. The door creaked open, and Tyrian picked his head up to watch Cinder step inside.

She stared him down, and Tyrian glared back at her. A thousand emotions flit through his chest, all unwanted and none of them managing to be even remotely adequate for the pure  _ anger _ that was bubbling in him.

Tyrian allowed himself to pick his head up and watch her, watch as she crossed the room to her bunk (Hazel and Watts’ bunks were empty. They were still away on their missions, making their goddess  _ proud _ and when they returned the two of  _ them _ would get her praise. But not Tyrian,  no, never Tyrian. He didn’t deserve her love. All he was to her was the  _ disappointment. _ ) Seeing Cinder only made that anger more real, and for once Tyrian allowed himself to speak and act on it. 

“Sometimes,” he began, hissing the word out as he glared at Cinder, who was beginning to slip out of her long glove. “I wish you died.” Tyrian didn’t know how much of it he meant, but it was all he could think of. All that he felt. 

Cinder stared at him from across the room, and Tyrian was already bracing himself for the harsh words. Reprimand or anger, or something. 

But the girl had no voice, and so she just sighed and resigned herself to a night of rest. 

Somehow that was the thing that made him more angry than anything else. The others would have at least had the decency to react to him. 


	68. Gamer Girls - Freezerburn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can I get sassy freezerburn playing video games with each other? - anonymous

“I have no idea what I’m doing.” Weiss said, sitting in her pajamas next to Yang in front of the television display that their team had set up in their dorm. She had seen Ruby and Yang play games on it in the past using their scrolls, but it was something that Weiss didn’t have any actual experience using herself.

But Yang had wanted for the two of them to sit down and relax instead of studying, and that had been a request that Weiss had been happy to play along with. The only thing was that now she didn’t know what she was actually supposed to do.

Yang looked over at her and shrugged her shoulders, too relaxed by far. “You just kind of mash buttons. You’ll figure it out.”

Weiss nodded, looking down at the controls that had appeared on her scroll. She’d never really gotten a chance to play video games herself when she was living in Atlas. “You’re sure?”

“You’re one of the smartest girls in class, right?” Yang laughed, pressing a button on her scroll. The fight music from the game all but startled Weiss to attention, and she nearly dropped her scroll because of it. “I’m sure you’ll get it.”

Weiss blinked and realized that the game that Yang had chosen was some sort of fighting game, and there was a timer. Yang’s character immediately started moving, and Weiss pressed every button that she had in front of her until she saw her own character doing the same.

The first round of the game didn’t last long at all.  Weiss tried not to huff or show her frustration too much, since she had a feeling that she had a better sense for what she was supposed to do now anyways. 

The second round went just as quickly, though Weiss at least managed to get a few good hits in on Yang’s character. 

But, it was a best two out of three rounds game. Yang leaned over into Weiss’ space with a wide smile plastered across her face. 

“So-” Yang joked, while Weiss felt her face beginning to flush in some embarassment. “What would my trophy be for winning?”

Weiss blushed further. “I’m demanding a rematch!”

Yang nodded and sat back up straight. “Alright, but I’m not going to take it easy on you this time around.” 

Weiss shot Yang a look. “What do you mean, this time around?”

“What I mean is that I’m not going to let you play around with buttons until you think you know what you’re doing, and by the way- you don’t.”

Weiss’ expression sank more and more into a proper glare. 

“Oh, don’t take it so personal, Ice Queen. We’re all friends here.” 

“Say that for yourself.” Weiss muttered, barely under her breath. 

At her side and out of view, Yang grinned. 

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all comments and criticism are greatly appreciated.
> 
>  
> 
> [I'm on tumblr. Sometimes stuff happens. I'm always willing to take questions and prompts there!](http://general-ironwoods.tumblr.com/)


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